


If Fate Wills It So

by VannaValentine



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Fates Adaptation, Hoshido!Corrin, Multi, Nohr!Kamui, Timeskip, War is heck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2020-12-09 16:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 269,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20997941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VannaValentine/pseuds/VannaValentine
Summary: Corrin and Kamui are amnesiac twins with a strained relationship. One meek and gentle—the other stoic and hardened. In spite of this, they are closer than any pair of people could ever be. However, the cruel hand of fate rips them apart and thrusts them into a war in which they fight on opposite sides and the siblings are forced to work against one another in order to achieve their goals and prove their ideals just. How will they fare in this game of war?





	1. Ties That Bind

Regal purple.

The walls, carpet, and ceiling of the room were all made of purple material with gold highlights. Even the large bed’s silk canopy was a light violet, while the other nearly identical bed next to it bore one of a much darker hue. The room was not very large, but it was of a comfortable size. It was large enough so that five people standing around the bed was not cramped and they each had plenty of space to move around.

An old man with greyed hair sighed, even more wrinkles forming on his scarred face as he grimaced at the bed. “Flora, Felicia. Will you two please do the honors of awakening our young lord?”  
The two young women that he had addressed nodded, one with light blue hair, the other with salmon pink. Both wore traditional maid attire and stood with proper posture, their backs straight and their hands in front of them. “Don’t over do it this time, Felicia. We don’t want to give him frostbite,” the first girl said.

The other woman, Felicia, awkwardly smiled as she removed her white glove from her hand, Flora taking off her own from the opposite hand. “I’ll try…”

Felicia brushed aside the canopy to reveal a young man lying in bed, the lilac covered bed sheets wrapped around. He had disheveled white hair and ridged pointed ears. He looked cozy while he slept, so the girls did not take any pleasure in placing their palms on either of his cheeks. Moments later, the boy’s red eyes snapped open.

“Gyah!” He quickly sat up and whipped his head from left to right with a panicked expression. His eyes found the two maids before him and remained on them before he put his head in his hands and groaned. “Do you two seriously have to wake me up like that every day?”

Flora slightly smiled. “Any other way that we try doesn’t work, so yes. You’re a heavy sleeper, you know.”

The young man sighed and smoothed his peculiarly styled white hair back, rubbing his eyes. “Gods. Sorry, sorry. I didn’t get much rest last night. Xander had me practicing my swordsmanship practically past midnight…“

“Diligence is the root of all strength, Lord Corrin,” said a thin, silver haired man standing beside Flora with a smile. He was wearing a well fitted suit that complimented his sophisticated aura. “You must work hard until you prove that you are prepared for the battles to come.”

Corrin rolled his shoulders and stood up from his bed, looking through the open window. He squinted upon seeing the dark night sky dotted with white stars. “What in the…what time is it?”

“Around five, milord. Now, it is time for practice. I have taken the liberty of readying your armor! Pounding out the dents, reinforcing the metal and whatnot. Your brother is a fearsome opponent, is he not?”

Corrin grimaced, looking down at his feet with a bashful look. “Perhaps he is for me, Jakob. But for others…”

Behind Jakob stood a somewhat short and composed young woman, her white hair falling down to the middle of her back. Her serious expression showed that unlike her brother, she was prepared for anything even at the crack of dawn. She greatly resembled Corrin, having the same ears and eyes and similar faces, but her deadpan expression hid that fact for the most part. She was already in her armor, which was made of an ivory colored material and was plated in a way that made it resemble reptilian scales. While the waistguard was trimmed gold, the primary highlight of the armor was black, covering her shoulders, knees, feet, and running down the center of the armor. Lastly, a navy blue cape hung from her neck.

“That’s not entirely true,” the girl said. “While I may have less trouble facing Xander than you do, I assure you that he is still not to be taken lightly.” She adjusted her hairband and looked to the old man. “Gunter, please fetch our blades for us. Meet us on the roof.”

“As you wish, Lady Kamui,” Gunter said, turning around and marching out of the bedroom. When he opened the door, Corrin caught a glimpse of the long hallway that stretched out before him, the velvet red carpet seemingly never ending.

Corrin looked to Flora and Felicia and gave a gratitude filled smile. “Thanks for waking me up, though. You’d think I would be used to this strange sleep cycle by now…”

“Oh, don’t look so glum, Lord Corrin. When we first became your maids, we too had to get used to changing our sleeping habits. Granted, it didn’t take us as long,” Flora reminded him with a grin.

“H-hey! I’m his retainer, not his maid!” Felicia added with a pout, causing Corrin to snicker. “There’s a difference, you know…”

Kamui cleared her throat and interrupted the trio’s small digression. “While Gunter retrieves our blades…Brother, don’t you think it would be best to make our way to the roof from now? Felicia, Flora, and Jakob can tidy up.”

“Right, right. You guys don’t have a problem with that, right?” Corrin asked, to which the three shook their heads.

“Of course not. We shall have this room resembling its state when it was only just built! With the furniture still intact, of course.” Jakob declared with determination. As the twins exited the room, he began constructing a plan with Flora and Felicia on exactly how they would go about cleaning the room, making Corrin smile as he grabbed his armor and left. His armor was essentially identical to Kamui’s, though crafted to match his more masculine frame.

“He’d make a pretty good tactician, you know. He’s really good at micromanaging. I could never do that,” Corrin stated, looking down on his shorter sister as they walked. “...Do you think you could?”

Kamui nodded, her expression remaining steadfast. “I believe I would be capable of becoming a noteworthy tactician. I have studied under Leo for many years now, which have honed my skills at staying organized.”

“Uh…that’s great. I’ve never really studied under anyone. Well, unless you count Xander—”

“I know.”

Sighing, Corrin figured that it would be best for him to remain silent. His sister was never the most talkative or social person in the world, but she seemed to have an aversion towards him in particular. She would often just completely ignore him whenever he attempted to instigate a conversation or leave when he’d enter a room. However, it seemed that when it came to their other siblings, she was perfectly fine.

Of course, Kamui had her reasons. She found her brother to be rather annoying. His presence didn’t make her want to hurt him or anything of the sort, but often times it did give her a headache. He was much too nonchalant sometimes, while other times he seemed to be always on edge. This was also the reason why she wasn’t _too_ fond of her younger sister, Elise. Despite being a full grown adult—at least by Nohrian law—she both resembled and acted like a child. She valued maturity in people and the fact that those two lacked any shred of it was a dealbreaker, regardless of whether or not they were siblings.

They briefly stopped so that Corrin could change into his armor, but eventually the twins came to a spiral staircase that ascended towards the roof of the fortress. After climbing the stairs, they stepped onto the roof only to find their brothers and Gunter waiting there for them.

“Heh. You two sure took your time,” their younger brother, Leo, said. While the twins looked incredibly alike, there was practically no resemblance between them and Leo at all. He had a smaller face, a different nose, and blonde hair. He wore a black hairband that prevented the back half of his hair from sticking out and onyx black mage armor with golden highlights, complimenting his blonde hair. “We’ve been up here for nearly half an hour.”

“Leo, your collar is inside out. We can see the tag,” Kamui pointed out.

Leo’s face went red as he scrambled to look at his own collar, flailing. Sure enough, he had put it on the wrong way. “What?! Xander, why didn’t you say anything?”

Next to Leo stood a taller man with hair the same color as his. He was wearing armor that shared the same colors as Leo’s—though with a much larger presence of purple—but it looked to be crafted to fit someone who would use a melee weapon instead of magic. “Truthfully, I hadn’t noticed…” he said with a grimace.

“Gods!” Leo sprinted away while tugging at his collar, attempting to hide himself within the shadows of a corner. “I cannot believe this. How could I have been so blind?”

Gunter cleared his throat and nodded at the young lords. He took a few steps towards them and presented the two with their weapons, two standard bronze swords. Despite their common material, they were in pristine condition and appeared to be exceptionally well taken care of.

The twins each took their respective weapons. “Thank you, Gunter,” said Corrin.

The old man smiled and returned to his original position, leaving the three siblings to face each other. “Well,” Xander began as he mounted his horse, “are you two ready?” In his hand he held his personal weapon, a strange looking sword with a long blade that split into two at the hilt before nearly reconnecting at the tip. As a result, this left a thin gap between the blades, small enough that the hand of a child could not slip through.

Taking a deep breath, Corrin took a combative stance and looked to his sister, who had already done so moments before. “On the count of three?”

Xander nodded, his horse taking a step back in order to provide some distance between the opposing forces. “On my mark. Three…two…one…begin!”

Kamui began by immediately turning around and dashing away from Xander. As usual, she left Corrin by his lonesome.

“Oh, come now. Again?” Corrin’s thought was interrupted as Xander brought his blade down on him. The young man dove to the left, luckily getting out of harm’s way just in time.

Xander recovered quickly, turning to his left with his sword extended and nearly taking his brother’s head off. With another swing, his odd looking blade clashed with Corrin’s simple one. Corrin twirled around, forcing Xander’s sword upwards.

Their swords collided again and again until Xander grew curious. After his blade ricocheted off of Corrin’s, he did not attempt to strike again. He simply stood there, as did his brother.  
Corrin held his sword in a defensive position, staring at his brother. “...Aren’t you going to attack me?”

Xander shook his head and sighed. “Corrin, you have not swung your sword on me. You’ve only been parrying, blocking, and dodging. How do you expect to win a battle if you do not attack?”  
The boy grimaced, biting his lip. “Sorry, sorry. I’ll uh…try to attack more often. Though, I find myself having trouble with—HYAH!” Suddenly, he spun on his heel and swung his sword upwards at Xander’s head, only barely missing. Not giving his opponent time to recover, he let out a barrage of strikes, Xander only barely managing to deflect each of them.

The horseman smiled. “Amazing! You’ve improved greatly since we last fought, brother. You’ve been training without me, haven’t you?”

Corrin smirked, ducking under a slash from Xander’s blade. “Not at all! Sister and I have just been coming up with new strategies for beating you specifically! Such as the element of surprise!”  
The young boy spun his body out of the way and Xander just barely managed to avoid Kamui’s blade hitting him, twisting at an awkward angle in order to do so. At an astonishing speed, Kamui ran past him and grabbed her sword, which was stuck in the ground, jumping in order to dislodge it.

“You threw your sword? Kamui, that tactic is incredibly impractical. Not to mention dangerous.”

“It nearly worked on you!” Kamui shouted as she slid under Xander’s mount and slashed, Xander only just barely blocking it. Turning around, he managed to parry one of Corrin’s strikes before having to spin to deflect Kamui’s jab at him. Xander turned around once more only to be met with the blunt end of Corrin’s sword slamming into his face—a move that left him incredibly dazed. This gave Kamui an opportunity to easily knock Xander off of his mount, the black steed galloping away. Xander reached for his sword—which had fallen from his grasp—but Corrin placed his right foot on the blade. The twins aimed the tips of their weapons at their brother, signalling his defeat.

Xander smiled proudly. “It seems you’ve bested me…excellent teamwork, you two.”

The twins each took one of Xander’s arms and pulled him up, Kamui handing him his sword after. “Thank you,” she said. “I will likely not be throwing my sword again anytime soon. I had thought it would make for a good distraction while Corrin attacked, but it appeared he was too slow…”

Corrin looked down at his feet guiltily and kicked at the stone. “S-sorry. I was thrown off guard. I thought you’d be throwing it from the opposite direction…”

“Even in the heat of battle, you should always be aware of the position of your comrades.”

Xander waved the topic away. “Either way…Corrin, your sword is becoming brittle. It may be time to get a new weapon for you.”

“Or,” Leo began, entering the scene with two girls behind him. “You could try magic. Combat is more than just pointy sticks, you know. Kamui here seems to have taken an interest in tomefaire.”

Kamui nodded while at the same time smiling at her sisters to greet them. “Yes. Magic has many usages on the battlefield. It can provide you with range, but unlike bows, it can also be used close quarters in case you get cornered.”

“Which is why I dabble in it quite a bit. It’s also quite excellent for aerial attacks,” said the purple haired woman behind them, putting her pinky finger to her cheek and smiling. Her armor was similar in color to Leo’s, being mostly composed of black and gold. Her brigandine had a large window in it to allow her rather large cleavage to show, a feature that while not at all practical, she would defend for its aesthetic value. The vambraces on her arms had purple gloves attached to them, the material of which they were made of making it easier to grip with. Lastly, she wore a deep black head ornament that made it look as if she had two little horns protruding from her head.

“Hm…maybe I should start using magic! I don’t have a lot of experience with fighting, though.” A short girl with large blonde pigtails stated, a bright smile on her face. She was the only one of the siblings who wore no armor, instead simply donning a fancy black dress with pink highlights as well as being adorned by several ribbons and bows, the most prominent of which being the two black ones that kept her hair in pigtails.

“Ah!” Corrin grinned, happy to see his sisters. “Camilla! Elise! So glad to see you. Did Father send you?”

“Nope! We just wanted you to pay you a visit! We don’t get to see you often, since you’re not allowed to leave the fortress and all. Sometimes I get really lonely without you two…” Quickly wiping away her frown and replacing it with a beaming smile, Elise wrapped her arms around Corrin and Kamui and giggled gleefully. “Oh, I love you both so much! I love you more than anything in the whole wide world!”

Sighing, Leo shook his head in disappointment. “Elise. Would you please at least try acting slightly more mature? You may be young in appearance, but you’re almost an adult.”

“I for one think a cheerful attitude like hers in well needed in this gloomy kingdom, Brother.”

“Well said, Camilla.” Xander nodded in agreement.

Kamui cleared her throat and gave a suppressed smile. “It is good to see you as well. It’s not often we are offered a chance to get together. You’re all so dear to both Corrin and myself. While we don’t have many memories of when we were children, we are grateful that we have such a wonderful family.”

Her twin nodded in agreement, mimicking his elder brother. “Well put, Sister.”

“We’re grateful to have you as well,” Xander told them. “But actually, we have some news—”

“Oh oh oh!” Camilla quickly shook her head, interrupting her brother. “Allow me to tell them, Xander!” She stood firm and with a smile, looking directly at her precious little twins. “Kamui. Corrin. Father has asked us to take you both back to the capital!”

Both of them gasped, Kamui especially looking quite shocked. “T-truly!?” Kamui asked with a wide smile. Becoming aware of her sudden outburst, she quickly composed herself. “That is…wonderful news.”

“We can finally leave the fortress...“ Corrin muttered to himself. “This is astonishing!”

“Does…does this mean that we get to join you all as soldiers on the battlefield?” Kamui asked in a hopeful tone.

“We can discuss the details with father. We have carriages waiting at the fortress walls to take us to Castle Krakenburg. Lilith will be joining us, by the way, as will Felicia, Jakob, and Gunter. Flora will be staying behind to tend to the fortress.” Xander spoke with a smile. Despite the fact that he had been raised to show as little emotion as possible, he could only barely hide his excitement to spend even more time with his siblings.

Kamui looked confused. “Lilith is coming…? Is there any particular reason?”

Lilith, as much as she wanted to be, was a retainer to neither Corrin nor Kamui. She was more of a maid. She did the common housework that the other retainers were too busy to do, such as cleaning the stables or dusting the various rooms of the fortress.

“She just requested that she accompany the two of you, specifically Corrin.”

“Oooh!” Elise put on a mischievous grin. “Looks like she’s got a crush on big brother!”

Corrin’s face went red as Kamui slightly smiled. “Come on, Elise…”

* * *

Castle Krakenburg was located right in the center of the capital of Nohr, a city known as Windmire. The castle was constructed out of dark bricks and a plethora of other material, standing hundreds of meters tall.

The most curious thing about the castle was its location. The city of Windmire— constructed within a shallow crater formed by a meteor strike thousands of years before—was ringed by numerous circular walls dividing the city into wards in which the different social and economic classes resided. In the center most ring was a deep man made walled pit, and that was where the castle was located. The castle entrance could be reached by way of the sloped path that spiraled down the walls of the pit and led to the bottom. It was the residence of King Garon, the ruler of the kingdom of Nohr, also father to Corrin, Kamui, and the rest of their siblings. Despite this, none of them shared a mother.

Xander was son to Queen Katerina, who had died before any of the other siblings were born. Camilla, Leo, and Elise were born to some very fortunate concubines of King Garon, but almost no one among the general population knew anything about them. Again, they had died not long after giving birth to their children.

When it came to Corrin and Kamui, however…no one seemed to be aware of who their mother was. Corrin had wanted to ask his father many times while they were growing up, but Kamui had always discouraged him, telling him that it would be rude to ask about what may have been a sensitive subject to Garon. Eventually, Corrin gave up hope of ever finding out who his mother was, and he was perfectly content with that.

The princes and princesses of Nohr all stood before the throne where a large man sat. His beard was a peculiar mix of brown and white, his hair only being a few shades more gray than his skin. Nearly everything about him was imposing and intimidating, right down to his menacing scowl. His look was complete by his simple stark black armor and large wool cloak, perfectly fit for a king. He stared down at his children, looking specifically at the twins.

“Corrin. Kamui. I see you’ve made it here safely…” He spoke in a low, commanding voice, causing Corrin’s blood to run cold.

Kamui bowed gracefully out of subordination to the king, but also out of respect for her father. “Yes, Father. We are both happy to see you and visit Castle Krakenburg once more.”

“It is only thanks to your diligence that you are here. I have been informed that you are warriors nearly on par with Xander. At last, you possess the strength to be an instrument of Nohr’s power in the world.”

“But uh…Father? Will it really be alright for them to be outside of the fortress?” Elise asked with concern in her tone.

“I worry about that as well. Isn’t it dangerous for them to leave the fortress? I mean, it’s so sturdy and its defenses are nearly impenetrable. I’d like to spend more time with them of course, but wouldn’t it be safer for them to stay?” Camilla questioned, as motherly as usual.

Corrin looked to the both of them with a reassuring look. “Sisters, please. I think Kamui and I are strong enough to hold our own in any fight, even on our own.”

“Yes, we’ve been working on fighting as individuals rather than a team. Corrin has become quite agile as of late,” added Kamui. “Meanwhile, I’ve been working on giving my strikes more power to them in order to inflict greater damage. Hitting harder is generally a sound tactic.”

The king nodded in understanding. “Truer words have never been spoken. Now, my children. As you are aware, Nohr is currently at war with the eastern kingdom of Hoshido.”

“Yes, Father,” the twins said in unison, then looking at each other. Corrin slightly chuckled, while Kamui only cracked a small smile.

“We of the royal family are descendants of the ancient gods, the First Dragons. As inheritors of that divine strength, we conquer those who oppose us with ease. One who learns to wield that power can destroy armies hundreds of men strong. Xander, Camilla, and Leo have already shown that they possess this power. Even your little sister possesses quite impressive magical potential and heals far more than your average cleric. I expect no less from you.”

“We are aware of your expectations, Father. Xander has trained us to go beyond the extent of our combat abilities.”

Nodding, Garon continued to speak. “You two show promise. However, your simple swords will not do. You will need a weapon more suitable to serve Nohr.”

With a wave of the hand, a peculiar looking weapon appeared before the two in a puff of smoke. It was a sword, that enough was obvious, yet it appeared that the blade was encased in some sort of black rock, the tiny crevices being illuminated by a glowing purple.

“Oh my…” Corrin said in awe.

“This is Ganglari, a sword said to be infused with magic from another world. You will use its power to crush the Hoshidan army with ease.” As Garon spoke, he smiled at the thought of what his children would do to any Hoshidan that stood in his way. However, there was quite the apparent issue at hand.

Corrin scratched at the back of his neck. “Err…Father, forgive my rudeness, but there are two of us. Two people cannot exactly wield the same blade at one time.”

“Of course. I had every intention of allowing Corrin to use it. Kamui, I believe you are adept enough in battle that you will not need the extra support of a blade such as this one. However, I will allow you two to decide among yourselves.”

The twins looked to the sword, then to each other. “Ah…Corrin, I’m going to have to agree with Father. You _do_ need the extra support.”

“I won’t argue with that. But if this sword is as strong as I believe it to be, then you wielding it would be like having two of you in one. If I use it, it’d be more balanced than anything.”

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Leo began. “I’m going to have to agree with Kamui. Brother, don’t you think that your agility combined with the strength of Ganglari would make an exceptional combination?”

After a few moments of contemplation, Corrin finally nodded, taking the handle of Ganglari into his hand. “I suppose there’s no arguing with that logic. Thank you, Father.” Upon gripping the blade, a chill ran down his spine. He felt as if the power from the weapon was flowing through his veins and instilling itself within him. His heart pounded in his chest, though he hid this from everyone else by maintaining a straight face. It would be unbecoming of him to show weakness, afterall.

“Indeed. Now, let us see you put that sword to use!” Garon turned to a tunnel in one of the throne room walls and grinned, calling out. “Bring forth the prisoners!”

“Prisoners?” Kamui said to herself as she turned around only to see two people bound at their hands being dragged in by Garon’s servants. One was a dark skinned woman with erratic white hair and fire in her eyes.The other was a man with forest green hair who seemed very calm despite the situation, his attire implying that he was a Hoshidan ninja.

Garon looked upon the two menacingly. “These are prisoners from our most recent skirmish with Hoshido. I want to see your power with my own eyes. Everyone else, take a step back.” The other Nohrian children complied, leaving the twins by their lonesome. “Guards!”

The guards dropped a club and several shurikens on the ground, then hastily exiting the room. The bindings were then spontaneously incinerated, going up in ash and freeing the prisoners. The man collected the shurikens from the ground while the girl grabbed her club and glared at the twins, baring her teeth.

“You! I am Rinkah of the Flame Tribe! Speak your names, Nohrian blue bloods!”

Corrin bit his lip, thankfully remembering to keep his grip on his sword. “Corrin.”

“Kamui.”

Rinkah squinted, slightly lowering her guard along with her arm. The aggression in her face seemed to fade and be replaced with confusion. “Corrin…and Kamui? Could it be?”

The ninja took one shuriken into his left hand, sighing. “...I am Kaze, a ninja of Hoshido. Show me what you are capable of.”

With a sinister smile, King Garon watched from his towering throne as Kamui began to confidently walk forward, Corrin following shortly after.

“Obliterate them, my children.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These end notes probably aren't going to be abundant, but I figured I might as well give some background here. Hi! I'm Valentine. I've been writing this story for about three years now and figured I might as well upload it for people to enjoy. I'm pretty new to AO3, so we'll see how this goes. Kudos and comments are appreciated more than you think. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read my work. I hope you stick around for upcoming chapters!


	2. Journey Begins

Corrin didn’t expect someone with a projectile weapon to make the first move. He had thought that the ninja would create distance between them and him at the start of the battle and pester them with projectiles. After all, everything Leo had taught him about tactics said that that would be the most likely course of action for a ninja. So, when Kaze immediately sent a shuriken flying towards his head, he was shocked to say the least.

His sister managed to deflect the weapon with the flat end of her blade, then looking to him with intense eyes. “Stay alert, Corrin. Don’t stand idle.”

“Like how we’re doing now?” Corrin groaned and ran in the direction opposite Kamui. “Look, you two can just surrender and this’ll all work out fine!”

“Surrender? After your men kidnapped us and are forcing us to fight for our own freedom? Hah!” Rinkah scoffed, beginning to run at Corrin. “Not a chance!”

She raised her club high in the air and brought it downwards, her swing being blocked by Ganglari. Corrin retaliated with a kick to her stomach, though it didn’t do much thanks to Rinkah’s well-toned abs. It did, however, knock her away and give Corrin a chance to slash at her, the tip of his sword catching her on the cheek.

The woman recovered by relentlessly swinging her club diagonally upwards as she rose, catching Corrin in the chin and knocking him down. She then repeatedly brought her club down on him in an attempt to hit his head, but he rolled and dodged every one of them. This couldn’t go on forever, though. He stayed in one place for only a second more, dropping his sword and positioned his arms above him, praying that this would work. As she swung her club down at him, he managed to push forward and grab it, stopping her in her tracks. He then pulled back and caused her to fall forward.

The boy quickly put his feet above him and kicked up, sending her into the air. He grabbed his sword and rose to his feet, then looking around in a panic. One thing Xander had taught him was to never let the opponent out of your sight, and he had done just that.

It came back to bite him immediately. By the time he looked in front of him, he saw Rinkah’s club coming straight for his temple.

It hurt. A lot. Black spots danced across his vision as he lay on the ground, a warm liquid trickling down his face. Looking up, he could vaguely make out Rinkah standing above him and panting. He’d only managed to make a scratch on her…of course.

She smiled a bit, squeezing her club with both hands. “…Hah. You’re toast.” Just before she brought her weapon down, a figure that Corrin could not quite make out ran by and knocked Rinkah down with a scream.

At that moment, Corrin’s vision cleared. Rinkah was kneeling and gripping her bloody thigh, Kamui standing to her right flicking the blood from her sword. The boy looked to his left where Kaze was on all fours, just barely keeping himself up by leaning on his arms. Whatever Kamui had done to him, it clearly hurt.

Kamui sighed as she sheathed her sword. “You’re no neophyte when it comes to combat, brother. You should be doing better than…” she looked at the slightly bloody scratch on Rinkah’s cheek, “this.”

“Uh…sorry,” Corrin said as he stood. “Gods, she was tough. Hopefully all Hoshidans aren’t this strong.”

Garon scowled at his children in a displeasure. “Why sheathe your blade? Don’t just stand there, finish them!”

Corrin was taken aback, as was Kamui. “I beg your pardon?” he asked. “You wish for us to kill them?”

“Father…does that not seem a bit unreasonable? Look at them,” Kamui began, gesturing to the two Hoshidans. “The ninja is battered and bruised to all hell and back and the other one can barely walk. You wish for us to execute helpless prisoners?”

The king was furious at the insubordination. He slammed his fist into the armrest of his throne and leaned forward “You dare question me? I ORDER you to kill them! NOW!”

“Father!” To Corrin’s shock, even his hardened and loyal sister was opposed. Kamui knew that Garon was notorious for his temper, but she was not usually on the receiving end of it. Corrin figured that as such, she was not as afraid of Garon as he was. “What is the point in senseless murder?”

Seething with rage, Garon raised his large and muscular hand as it became surrounded with a dark fog. The same fog appeared next Rinkah, quickly inching towards her and threatening to consume her.

“No!” Corrin cried. Without thinking, he stabbed into the fog with Ganglari and the darkness dispersed at once. Rinkah was left with her eyes wide and her mouth agape, in shock from both nearly being covered in the lethal fog as well as Corrin’s rebellion against the king.

Elise gasped from the sidelines and covered her mouth. “B-Big brother!” She attempted to run forward to him, but Camilla put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from doing so and shook her head.

It almost seemed as if Garon was ready to rise from his throne and dispose of the young man himself, but he instead slammed his fist on the armrest once again. “Corrin! You dare defy me directly?!”

Xander grimaced at the situation and looked on with a disappointed expression. “This is…not good.” He stepped forward and addressed his father loudly and clearly. “Father! Please forgive him, he doesn’t yet understand our situation!”

Corrin wished to correct him, but he held his tongue as his sister had taught him. He understood the situation perfectly, in fact. He simply did not want to carry on with an unnecessary execution.

The king reluctantly unclenched his fist and steadied his breathing. He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled, sinking back into his seat. “Fine then. Xander, you do it. Kill them.”

The prince nodded with a grimace, turning around and approaching Kaze and Rinkah. Corrin stepped in his path, sword in hand. “Step aside, Corrin. If you do not, then I will be forced to—”

“No! I’m not just going to allow the murder of people who have done nothing wrong!”

“They’re our enemies, Little Brother! All they are is an obstacle to Nohr. Does that mean nothing to you?”

Corrin turned to Kamui with pleading eyes. “Kamui! Say something to him!”

“I…” Kamui bit her lip and looked down, unsure of what she was to do. She was an obedient girl, though even she thought that this was rather uncalled for. “Um…”

“This is ridiculous. Forgive me.” With that, Xander unsheathed his blade, Siegfried, and held it forward. When Corrin stood firm, he closed his eyes and raised it before bringing the blade down.

Corrin held his weapon up to block the strike, squeezing his eyes shut. Xander continued his blows while the young prince blocked every one of them, not once attacking. Xander was of course not looking to actually harm his brother, only disarm or immobilize him momentarily. He was a noble man, after all, and would never want to hurt those close to him.

Camilla gazed upon the fight with a concerned expression, clasping her hands together. “Oh, Corrin. Why must you fight him? My sweet little brother…”

“Oh no no no no!” Elise said, bouncing in anxiousness. “Leo! What should we do?”

Leo looked to both his sisters then sighed. “Ugh. Why must it always come down to me?” With a wave of his hand, both Kaze and Rinkah became suddenly enveloped in a green light. To Corrin’s horror, they shattered in a flurry of sparkles, their remains floating every which way.

Garon rose from his throne with a sigh and stepped down, beginning to make his way down the long carpet of the throne room without a word. “Father,” Leo began. “The prisoners have been dispatched. I only ask that you be merciful in your punishment of my softhearted brother.”

Their father gave a simple nod in response. “I shall consider it,” he put flatly. He continued down the path without so much as glancing at his children and with that, he had rid them of his presence.

“Leo!” Corrin shouted, angrily walking towards his younger brother. “How could you!? They were beaten! There was no reason to kill them!”

“I agree,” Leo said, much to his brother’s surprise. He rolled his eyes before smirking at him. “Now hush.”

Xander approached the three of them, his intimidating aura making Corrin cower and Kamui hide her eyes behind her hair. The older prince let out a sigh and shook his head in disappointment.

“You two. It is not wise to go against the wishes of Father. You know this.”

“And if his requests are completely absurd? What if he orders us to kill you one day?” Corrin proposed, boldly stepping towards his elder brother. “What if he tells us to kill each other? What if we have to slaughter—”

“Enough. He would never do such a thing.” Xander huffed, then looking to his other younger brother. “Leo. Your spell…”

“Worry not. It was only enough to weaken them and send them elsewhere. Honestly, I probably should’ve just carried out Father’s orders, but Camilla and Elise always get so fussy when I do something to upset the twins.”

Corrin took a moment to process this newfound information, his face blank. Only a few moments later did it click within his head that Kaze and Rinkah were alive. The young man began to rub his temples as a sign of relief, a small smile growing on his face.

“Thank you, Leo.”

The other twin cleared her throat. “Are you sure it was in our best interests to defy Father?” she asked, finally speaking after what seemed like ages.

“He doesn’t have to find out. Now, I have to attend to my studies, as does Elise.”

Elise pouted and crossed her arms, grumbling to herself. Leo continued. “I want you two,” he gestured to Kamui and Corrin, “to escort the prisoners away from the castle. They should be bound in the gardens right now. It’ll be beneficial to Nohr if they don’t return with an army, so try not to be so hostile. I’m looking at you, Kamui.”

“Hostile?” The girl was taken back. “Why, I’m usually fairly docile.”

“Yes, to our allies,” Corrin corrected. “But you tend to be slightly hot headed when it comes to our enemies, and that’s only discussing them.”

Kamui began mumbling to herself in annoyance. “I see…moving on. Brother, let us escort the prisoners—well, former prisoners—away from the castle.”

“Be careful out there!” Their older sister called. “Those Hoshidans are dangerous. If they hurt a single hair on your precious little heads, just tell me and I’ll have theirs!”

As he and Kamui began to exit the throne room, Corrin gave a reassuring smile. “We’ll be fine, Camilla!” he promised, then looking straight ahead. “That fight was simply exhilarating, Kamui. I’ve only ever fought against you or Xander, so it a new experience to battle new people. I want to try that again!”

“A battle that you lost, mind you,” Kamui reminded him. “If I hadn’t been there to save your skin, gods know what would have happened. Next time, we shouldn’t separate the fights into one on one situations. You’ll surely fail if that’s the case. Our synergy is our strong suit, so we should work together. Our chances of victory would be far higher.”

Corrin frowned. Of course she had to remind him of his failure—she always did. She could never compliment him on anything. Kamui was always serious, focusing on whatever her objective was at that moment and never let things distract her. She was always there to one-up her brother and to serve as a constant reminder that he would never even reach second best.

She did have a point, though. They worked well together and he was a much stronger combatant when she was by his side. Corrin feigned a smile and nodded. “Right, we have to work as a team to win. Makes sense. We’ll try that next time.”

She did not respond.

The two made their way to the castle gardens, which were just as dreary as the rest of the kingdom. Tall, dark trees bent and wound their way throughout the area, the branches just barely holding on to their trunks. Dying bushes lined the walls of the old castle, the occasional flower popping out of the needles. The moon’s light spilled onto the grass, making the illuminated blades appear as a dark blue.  
In the center of it all were Kaze and Rinkah, their hands bound behind their backs. Kaze simply lay there and waited while Rinkah thrashed around, trying her damndest to break her bindings. When the girl noticed her captors approaching them, her already angry expression turned to that of rage and she began screaming through her rag gag.

Corrin raised his hands as a sign of peace “Hey, we don't wish you any harm. As a matter of fact, we’re here to free you. Why do you think my brother didn’t kill you?”

Kamui removed the rag from Rinkah’s face and she immediately spat back. “Because he’s a coward! You’re all cowards! Every last Nohrian in this gods forsaken land!”

Wincing, Corrin knelt down and began to undo her bindings. “That’s a pretty large generalization. You truly believe that just because a person is of Nohrian blood, they’re cowardly?”

“Just take you for example. The lowest ranking prince of Nohr requesting for his combatants to surrender instead of fighting them? How pathetic.”

He sighed and rolled his eyes before coming to the final knot in the rope. “Now, I’m going to undo this, but I need you to promise me something. Promise you won’t attack me immediately after your arms are free, and promise that once you leave, you won’t come back with an army or something. Okay?”

“You expect me to make deals with a Nohrian? I know your kind, and I know—”

“Rinkah.” Kaze spoke, standing and rubbing his wrists. “Peace. Cool your temper and think about this logically.”

Crossing her arms, Kamui looked down at the girl. “If we wanted to hurt you we would have done so already. Please, cease your yelling and oblige with our conditions, or we just might have to keep one of you for longer than intended.”

Rinkah ground her teeth in frustration tightly closed her fists before sighing and loosening them. “Fine,” she said through grit teeth in defeat. “I’ll withhold from attacking you and I won’t return once I leave.”

With that, Corrin undid the final knot. The girl stood, a fiery rage still boiling inside of her. “You should be nicer to him,” Kamui began. “It’s only due to his kind will that you’re still standing.”

“It’s not as if you were in favor of their execution, Sister,” Corrin pointed out, which Kamui responded to with a shrug. “But, it is due to my protesting that you were freed in the first place.”

“I am not a hostage to be freed!” Rinkah shouted. “I assure you, next time we meet, you will be humiliated!”

In response, Corrin simply smiled. “Actually, I was hoping that the next time we meet, it could be as friends.”

Rinkah scowled and balled her fists, ready to pummel the prince before her. She was pacified by the sight of Kamui gripping the hilt of her sword. “You softhearted fool. You do not understand what you suggest. I, a Hoshidan warrior, comrades with a Nohrian prince? The very thought of that is enough to make me laugh.”

Corrin was going to respond by saying he was looking at the bright future ahead, but his sister cleared her throat. “I suggest that you two leave at once, lest you be spotted by father or one of his guards. Gods have mercy on all of us if he were to find out that you live.”

Agreeing, Kaze took a bow. “Thank you for you gratitude, Princess Kamui.”

Disgusted at Kaze’s respect towards a Nohrian noble, Rinkah scoffed and crossed her arms. Without a word, she turned and proudly took off, Kaze in tow.

Relieved that the fiasco was over, Kamui loosened up her muscles and sighed. She looked to the sky and saw the sun beginning to rise. “It’s dawn. We have a long day ahead of us, brother.”

“And by that you mean more training.” The twins began to make their way back to the castle interior, heading for their living quarters. “It’s all we’ve done for the past ten or so years of our lives. Train train train, fight fight fight. Don’t you think it’s time we do something better with our lives?”

Kamui kept a straight face and did not turn her head as she spoke. “We will. We will join father’s army, do as we’re told, and when that is over, we shall wed and continue the bloodline of the royal family. You know that.”

“So we are like dragons bred for combat. When our time has run out, we breed and pass on our genes so that our children can do the same?” Corrin asked glumly. “Don’t you think that’s sad?”

“You’re oversimplifying it,” Kamui said sharply. “We are people, not dragons. What do you think we’ll do once we have children, just end our lives then and there? No. Do not take our royalty for granted.” The two began to climb the stairs to their room, Corrin making a mental note to talk about this with Xander later. “We can live out our lives in luxury. Of course, not a soul in the kingdom know we exist in the first place, but we’ll make ourselves known when the time comes. Considering we’ll be joining Father’s army by day’s end, that will likely be soon.”

“But—”

Kamui held her hand up to silence the boy. “Peace, brother. Stress isn’t good for your body, and you’re going to want to keep it in the best of shape as you possibly can. Just let the fates play our lives out and be content with that.”

The young prince reluctantly nodded and opened the door to their living quarters, propping his new blade against the wall. He was curious as to why it appeared to be so sinister in nature, but it was fitting for the dark and gloomy kingdom of Nohr.

Nohr, the place where he was born and raised. And yet, he felt no kinship to the motherland. Why should he? As his sister had stated before, barely a handful of souls in the kingdom knew of his existence. His siblings frequently made public appearances and were well known throughout the realm. Alas, the king had kept his twins confined to a fortress since their birth. He had rarely spoken about them to any outsiders and denied any rumors stemming from a slip of the tongue, usually from Elise. Corrin did not know why he was doing this in the first place. Perhaps he was ashamed of the bearer of his children? This seemed unlikely, considering the fact that Leo, Elise, and Camilla were all born to random concubines. Twins were considered a bad omen in Nohrian culture, but was it truly of the utmost importance that a man would keep his children hidden from the rest of the world?

The question remained firm in Corrin’s mind as he and his sister began to undress with the intention of going to the castle baths. They had worked up quite the sweat fighting the prisoners and as such were in need of a wash. However, they were interrupted by a petite maid who entered the room without knocking. Her navy blue hair was pulled back into a braid that faded to red near the ends and she wore a white bonnet on her head. She bore a peculiar red ruby on the center of her forehead, the color of which matched her face when she saw the twins in such a state of undress.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” she blurted out whilst squeezing her eyes shut, closing the door immediately.

“It’s fine, Lilith,” Kamui responded as she slipped her body suit from her shoulders. “You can come in.”

Slowly reopening the door, the flustered maid entered with a nervous expression. “Ah…Your Majesty has requested to speak to his children. The twins. There aren’t any other twins among his children, s-so…”

Corrin gave a warm smile and nodded, beginning to redress immediately. “I see. Did he say what for?”

Lilith shook her head and bit her lip, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs. “No. Would you…would you like me to accompany you? Just for moral support,” she said tentatively, constantly looking at and away from the both of them. “You know, if you want.”

“I assure you that won’t be necessary,” Kamui said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Although, thank you for your offer.”

Squeaking with a slight sense of fear, Lilith took a step back and nodded at the two. “Right. Well…good luck!” she quickly closed the door and scurried away, the sounds of her frantic steps being audible from inside of the bedroom.

Corrin snickered and they both finished their redressing not long after, leaving their room and beginning to walk. “I was looking forward to a bath. My muscles are so sore…”

“Depending on what Father has summoned us for, we might get to soon. Let us just see what he has to say. We can surely do that, can we not?”

With a nod, Corrin continued on towards the throne room with his sister. He was nervous, of course. He was nervous anytime his father wished to speak with him, no matter how rare that might have been. While the boy was admittedly somewhat meek, the king was intimidating with an overwhelming presence. Even without his deep and hectoring voice, his large stature and menacing appearance would have frightened Corrin only slightly less.

The pair were making their way through the winding halls of the vast castle before a small figure dashed up to them, bumping into Kamui from behind and falling down. “Ooph!”

“Elise?” Kamui looked down at her little sister, who was breathing heavily on the floor with an exasperated expression. She extended her hand and helped her up, looking at her with curious eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I h-have to come with you! To see Father!” Elise began. “I overheard him talking with Iago, and…just come with me!” She grabbed both of them by their hands and started to run, dragging her siblings with her.

The three of them arrived at the large double doors of the throne room, carvings of the first dragons adorning them. Elise looked concerned for her siblings well being, but spoke nonetheless. “Okay, okay. We’re going to go in together, alright? I’ll try to help you guys as much as possible. I mean, this is our father we’re talking about. He has to forgive his own children, right?”

Kamui nodded, but Corrin knew that Garon would throw them to the wayside without hesitation if it came to it. “Thank you, Elise.” Kamui adjusted her hairband and straightened her posture, taking a step forward to open the doors. She was stopped when she heard her father’s booming voice laughing, the sound sending a chill down her spine.

“F-Father!?” Corrin called through the door.

“He’s probably talking to someone,” Elise suggested hopefully. “Maybe we should come back later.”

Kamui bit her lip and took a step back. “Right. That is likely the best course of action.”

“Hrmph!” The siblings heard their father from inside the throne room. “Someone’s at the door! Who is it?”

Elise jumped and bit her lip in fear. “Ah…Elise and the twins. Lilith says that you summoned them. I’m here to accompany them.”

“Yes, yes. You may enter.” Now with permission, Kamui pushed through the doors and entered the grand throne room. The three of them walked down the purple carpet approaching the throne only to stand before the ruler of Nohr. He was leaning on his fist with a displeased expression.

Garon glared down at the three. “Corrin…you disobeyed a direct order from me. Under any other circumstances, you would be dead.”

Wincing, the young boy stared down at the floor. His hands began to tremble in fear. “I understand…”

“Kamui.” Garon looked to his daughter. “Your inaction has not gone unnoticed either.”

Kamui’s eyes widened in shock. Yes, she had been summoned along with her brother, but she assumed it was only because they were practically treated as one unit. She didn’t think she had truly done anything wrong. “Father, I…you have my apologies.”

Elise piped up. “Forgive them, Father! Please!” she pleaded, clasping her hands together in hopes that the king would have mercy on her brother and sister.

“There is no need for that, Elise!” he shouted in a dominating tone. “As you are my children, I shall be more lenient with you. I have something in mind for the two of you. A mission, as a matter of fact. If you complete this mission, your actions will be pardoned.”

The twins agreed in an instant. They had already disobeyed Garon once, and most people don’t even get away with that. Neither of them wished to risk testing him a second time.  
“If I might ask, what is the nature of this mission?” Kamui inquired.

“There is a fortress located on the Hoshidan border—abandoned. It wish to find out whether or not the Nohrian army can make use of it. No battle will be required, but bring weapons for safety’s sake. Do you understand? I will not be disappointed twice.”

Both Corrin as well as Kamui swallowed and gave a nod, the look of concern on Elise’s face gradually growing warmer. “Excellent,” Garon responded. “Elise, you needn’t have been present for this exchange.”

The small girl bit her lip in fear. “I was just…I wanted to make sure nothing went wrong and that everyone would get along. There’s no harm in that, right?”

To Elise’s surprise, her father gave a slight smile. “You have a kind soul, daughter.” The king cocked his head to the side. “You two will not be alone in this task. Iago.”

A tall and lanky man with long, knotted black hair confidently stepped out from behind the throne. His white face was partially concealed by a golden mask with a horn sticking out in the center, a crooked smile plastered onto his visage. “Yes,” he spoke in a low manner, his voice bringing a foul expression to the sibling’s faces. “Children. How nice it is to see you again.”

“It’s ah…it’s been a while, Iago,” Corrin responded reluctantly. Truthfully, he wanted to run. Iago had always frightened him as a child, from his twisted stature to his sinister nature and appearance. “How are you?”

“Why, I’m simply divine. Your father has bestowed upon you a great task. I sincerely hope you prevail in said task. Now, as for the task he has bestowed upon me, I will be the coordinator of this mission.” He cleared his throat. “The people executing the mission will be as follows: Kamui, Corrin, Felicia, Jakob, Gunter, and Hans.”

Kamui tilted her head upon hearing the unfamiliar name. “Hans?”

“Ah, yes. Hans,” he beckoned towards one of the smaller entrances to the throne room. “Enter at once.”

In an instant, the siblings were greeted with a large and burly bald man, his muscles bulging against his skin tight shirt. His smile was clearly filled with malintent and his eyes were dark as he looked specifically at the twins before him. “Heh. Lord Corrin and Lady Kamui. I have heard many interesting things about you.” He extended his hand. “What a pleasure to finally meet you face to face.”

Corrin reluctantly shook it, followed by Kamui, who reapplied her stiff posture upon Hans’ entrance. “I cannot say I was previously aware of your existence,” Kamui awkwardly spoke, “however, it is always good to meet any of my father’s associates.”

“Hans is a powerful fighter and someone to be protected. Be sure that no harm comes to him. Do I make myself clear?” Garon asked.

The twins gave a simultaneous nod. “Excellent! You will be departing within the next few hours. Prepare yourselves at once and you should be set to go.” Iago began walking backwards, the shadows of the throne room overtaking him. “And of course, best of luck to you.”

* * *

After making preparations to embark and cheering Elise up over not being able to go with them, Corrin and Kamui were finally ready to head to the abandoned fortress. Leo had given them more information about, such as how it lay on the edge of the Bottomless Canyon, a canyon aptly named for the rumor that was bottomless. It also served as a natural border to Nohr and the neighboring country of Hoshido. Legends alleged that those who fell in were said to never be found again due to the infinite abyss that the supposedly canyon possessed.

A carriage had taken the party a mile from the edge of the canyon. The coachman explained that the area around the canyon was incredibly dangerous, as the land was unstable and it was a popular spot for brigands to lurk, always eager to ambush those crossing the border delivering things or holding important information.

Gunter, being the oldest and most superstitious, was extremely wary. “I don’t like this place one bit. Look at the sky. How dark and foreboding…mortals were clearly not meant to enter this place.”

“Oh, lighten up, Gunter!” Corrin suggested with a smile. “I’m sure everything will be fine. After all, it’s only a simple scouting mission.”

Kamui cleared her throat to speak. “While I do agree, the atmosphere of the area is quite menacing. Be on guard.”

“You must relax, Lady Kamui. I will be there to protect you at all times,” Jakob said with confidence. “You have nothing to fear.”

Feeling the need to match Jakob’s vigor, Felicia also chimed in. “M-me too, Corrin! I’ll protect you!”

Corrin gave a warm smile in response. “Aw, that makes me feel safe. Thanks, Felicia.” He wasn’t exactly lying. Felicia had always been a good fighter—at least, a better fighter than she was castlekeeper. While she would frequently break dishes or spill water buckets, she was quite lethal with a dagger.

Hans remained silent the entire trek until they came to the bridge that crossed the gap of the Bottomless Canyon. The structure was rickety and held together by rope that had clearly been slowly unraveling over the years, the wooden boards having had already begun to rot away. “Well then, ladies. Looks like we’ve arrived.”

Before them was the crumbling stone fortress. It was in horrible condition, with there being holes all along the walls and no vantage points to be seen. Kamui gave a disapproving frown.

“...This is it? Look at it,” she asked, inching closer to the bridge. “It’s pathetic. I can’t imagine why Father would want to use this.”

“Perhaps he seeks to renovate it?” Jakob suggested with a hopeful inflection.

“Or simply demolish it and use the site for something else,” Gunter added. “The king has always been an odd one. At least, he’s become an odd one in the past few years.”

The next moment, the area was flooded with men and women in metal armor separated into sections and held together by rope. The red, black, and yellow colors of the uniform indicated that they were of Hoshidan origin, as those were the colors of the nation’s flag. Jakob immediately drew a dagger upon seeing them while Gunter readied his horse.

“Halt!” one of them called, a man who appeared to be the leader. He was a man who appeared to be well into his thirties with slicked back spiky brown hair and a hardened expression on his face. “I am Omozu, commander of this squad! Do not advance any further!”

Kamui drew her sword and glared, while Corrin grimaced and looked behind himself at Jakob and Felicia. “Did Father not say that this fort was abandoned? Why are there Hoshidans here?”

“Turn back at once,” Omozu demanded, “or we’ll be forced to attack!”

Felicia slowly took a dagger from the holster on her thigh and looked to Corrin with a questioning gaze. “Well…what should we do?”

“We’re not here to fight,” Corrin answered hastily. “I suggest that we return to Father and give a report saying that the fort wasn’t empty. Kamui?”

The usually aggressive girl stood idle for a few moments, then sighed and sheathed her blade. “Yes, that would seem like the best course of action.”

With a nod, Gunter turned back on his horse and began hoisting Felicia up. “A wise decision.”

Hans scoffed and unclasped his large axe, taking several steps forward with a wide grin. “Oh, who asked you, old man?” He sprinted forward across the unstable bridge, charging into battle like a raging bull.

Kamui's eyes grew wide as Hans continued onward. “What?! Hans, come back!” she shouted, her face getting redder by the second. “This was not apart of the mission! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Laughing as he went, Hans swung his axe down and buried the blade in the shoulder of a Hoshidan who had strayed too far, causing him to scream in pain. Hans placed his boot on the soldier’s chest and kicked, dislodging his weapon and leaving the man crippled on the dirt.

In outrage, the rest of the Hoshidan brigade ran towards Hans with their katanas, naginatas, and yumi at the ready. “Corrin, we have to attack! We were ordered by Father to protect him!” Kamui said.

“What? He charged in on his own! If he’s injured, it’s on him!” Corrin retorted.

Jakob began to advance as Gunter let Felicia down from his mount. “Apologies, Lord Corrin, but I must side with Lady Kamui on this one. Felicia, with me!”

“Right!” Felicia and Jakob hastily yet cautiously crossed the bridge to the fort and engaged in combat. Gunter followed not soon after, his horse making two long leaps to cross.

“Ugh, we don’t have time to argue!” Kamui grabbed her brother by the wrist and charged in, dragging him across the unstable bridge. She released him once they were across and drew Ganglari for him, pressing it to his chest. “We’re fighting. As one, yes?” Corrin took a moment to process the situation, then nodded. “Good. Now, remember, we ARE trying to kill these people. No holding back like you do with Xander and I. Understand?”

While he didn’t appreciate being talked down to by someone he considered to be his equal, he refrained from complaining. “Yes, I understand.”

Kamui stepped right into the fray of the battle and drew her blade once more, standing back to back with Corrin. As practiced, they defended each other’s blind spots and gave callouts to alert the other of impending danger.

The young princess had initially planned to take on any combat with Jakob by her side. After all, he was the person she knew the best after Corrin. However, he gradually began to drift away from fighting with her as she got older. Perhaps it was because their fighting styles did not mix? Jakob delivered quick and precise strikes to defeat an enemy, while Kamui preferred to win as quick as possible, so she opted for heavy and powerful attacks.

The same could be said for Felicia and Corrin, but the other way around in terms of fighting style. Felicia obviously had developed some feelings for the prince, something he remained oblivious to for the past three years or so. Due to the romantic feelings, she’d always wanted to fight by Corrin’s side, and yet he always defaulted to his sister, something that caused Felicia great annoyance.

While musing on this, Kamui was caught off guard and was struck in the thigh by a spear as a result. While having no armor around her inner thighs helped with her mobility, the trade off was that it gave her a clear weak spot. The princess dropped to one knee and grit her teeth in pain as her brother swiftly disposed of the spearman, then looking down to her in concern.

“Kamui! You’re hurt!”

“Obviously!” she spat angrily. “Gods. Jakob!”

Jakob turned his head towards his liege and instantly began running over once he realized she was injured. “Felicia, with Gunter!” He knelt down once he arrived on the scene and drew a long, skinny gold staff from his belt. “The spear…”

“Make it fast,” Kamui said through grit teeth, squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation.

With a nod, Jakob grabbed onto the spear and pulled it out in a single motion. Kamui let out a loud cry of pain but quickly silenced herself, biting down on her tongue. The orb on the end of the Jakob’s staff began to glow a bright blue, as did his hands. He held them above Kamui’s wound and the gash began to mend itself, the tissue repairing itself and her skin coming together. When it was over, the only evidence of the injury ever being there was the blood around it. “Lady Kamui, are you alright?”

The princess stood and put the weight of her body on the leg that had been injured to test it, letting out a sigh of relief upon not feeling any pain. “Yes, thank you. Quickly, back to your position!”

With a nod, Jakob dashed off to his territory on the battlefield. Kamui looked to her brother with a scowl. “What happened to watching each other’s backs?”

Corrin seemed offended at her obvious dissatisfaction. “That was your side, sister, and you weren’t paying attention.” Remembering what Leo had once told him about not staying idle while in the midst of combat, he turned on his heel and managed to catch an axe wielder in the jaw with the very tip of his new sword. “We’re supposed to observe each other’s blind spots, not call out obvious attackers. I’m sorry, but that was your fault.”

Kamui bared her teeth and gave her brother a beast-like growl, something she was known to do more often when she was a child but still made a habit of doing occasionally. “Whatever! I’m not in the mood for arguing!” She extended her sword towards the fort. “We have to make it over that gap,” she gestured to the five meter wide crevice between them and the objective, “and seize the fort. Once we have that, we’ll have the upper hand and be able to take the fight. Got it?”

“And just how do I expect us to cross the gap in the first place?”

“There’s a dragon vein a few dozen meters south—I saw it when we were approaching. You get to that while the rest of us clear out the remaining army on this side.” Kamui said adamantly. She seemed to have this planned out extremely well. Corrin didn’t even notice the glowing sigil on the rock, yet his sister seemed keenly aware of it. “Once we cross the gap, there are archers and some more infantry defending the entrance of the fort. We’ll get rid of most of them while you regroup with us, and then we finish them off. Did you get all that, Corrin?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” he responded, a little bit annoyed that she always felt the need to make sure he understood a command.

“Good. On my mark,” Kamui said while knocking a spear out of a soldier’s hand, then impaling him through the stomach. “...Go.”

The prince dashed off, deftly cutting down any Hoshidan that dared to obstruct his path. It was difficult to kill people, but he found that it was easier if he did not look at them after the fact. He gradually approached the sigil on the floor, skidding to a stop when he reached it. It was a golden with lines that curved and swirled in a strange pattern.

Corrin knelt down and clapped his hands together, exhaling for a moment in preparation. “Alright, haven’t done this in a while.” After a moment’s hesitation, he touched both palms to the dragon vein. The glowing intensified and grew brighter and a low humming sound began before dying down moments lower, the effects of the dragon vein then beginning to take.

The ground began to rumble and a section of the gap began to fill with large boulders that rose from the void, then melting together until it was one long bridge of stone.

Dragon veins were small symbols which under the right circumstances had the ability to morph the land around them. They could only be activated by those of royal blood, since they were descendants of the first dragons. Dragon veins were rare, but the Nohrian army had been making great use of them in battle, despite the fact that only four of their soldiers—being the royal children minus the twins—were able to activate them.

Corrin took a quick glance behind him and saw that everyone else had already regrouped and were beginning to cross the newly formed bridge. He sighed and began the sprint back, dragging his sword along with him.

On the other side, Kamui prevented an arrow from sinking into Gunter’s neck by slamming the hilt of her sword into the elbow of an archer, then cutting his throat in one swing. The dominoes continued to fall as fighter after fighter began to drop dead, whether it be from the blade of a dagger or by Kamui’s sword.

“Gyah!” she cried out as a stray shuriken struck her in the back. With the blade being so small, it didn’t go deep, but it still sent a great pain surging throughout her back. She turned around with her sword extended, ready to dispatch of the culprit. She was met with Omozu, who stood strong and prepared to fight. He held several shurikens in one hand and a katana in the other, already readying another attack on Kamui.

Kamui spun around once to avoid a dash from the enemy ninja, the pain in her back flaring up as she moved. She grit her teeth and ignored it, instead focusing on her positioning. She could not take the time to remove the shuriken in her back, so her movement during this fight would be hindered. He was a ninja, so he would be making quick bursts while dealing light damage over time. Being a swordswoman, she would have to place her strikes carefully in order to do any sort of harm.

So, that’s what she did. She waited. Omozu dashed forward with a wakizashi before him, attempting to cut Kamui across her neck. She stepped to the side past him and seized the opportunity, then swinging her sword in a downward arc to catch Omozu in the back of his shin, his blood splashing on the rocky ground.

The ninja struggled to stand, but could only crouch and hold his sword proudly. “An unprovoked attack is outrageous. Even worse, you attempt to humiliate me by waiting for me to strike?” He smirked. “Quite the tactician, but I won’t stand for it. I will—”

“Hyah!” With a loud battle cry, Kamui took two quick, long strides and slashed diagonally down, cutting the general across the chest. He fell to the ground and cried out, dropping his blade and bringing his hands to his bloody wounds. “Y-you…you!!!”

“Why would you let your guard down in the middle of a battle?” Kamui asked in a condescending fashion, looking down on her opponent. With a sigh, she spun her sword and prepared to deliver the killing blow. “What a sad excuse for a leader.”

Corrin watched in horror as the blade came down.

* * *

The small band of fighters gathered their bearings, Kamui going over the plan for the return trip to the castle. The remaining Hoshidan soldiers had been defeated quickly after their general’s execution, their corpses littering the area around them.

Corrin sat on one of the crumbling walls with his head in his hands. Despite the fact that he’d killed nearly a dozen men throughout the course of this single battle, seeing the commander of the army so mercilessly cut down like that—and by his own sister no less—made his stomach turn.

“Corrin?” Felicia slowly approached her lord with a concerned expression, hesitantly extending her hand towards his shoulder. “Are you alright? You look sick…”

“Ah, Felicia.” The young prince forced himself to sit up straight and don a smile. “Well done in the fight! I know how difficult it is to fight with only a couple of daggers, so I admire your performance.”

The pink haired woman frowned. “You avoided my question…you don’t seem to be doing too well and I want to know if there’s anything that I can do to help.”

Grimacing, Corrin awkwardly shook his head. “No no, I’m fine. If there’s someone you should be worrying about, it’s Kamui. All she seems to be focused on is—”

“That’s Jakob’s job, Corrin. I’m your retainer. My job is to, you know, retain? Actually, I’m not even sure if that’s true…anyway, I’m here for you, not Kamui. Not saying that I wouldn’t be there to support her in times of need and all, but…”

“You’re rambling, Felicia.”

“I know, I know! I’m just worried about you, okay? If anything were to happen to you, your dad would probably have my head on a pike by the end of the day.” She sat down next to him and patted his back in an attempt to give comfort. “So go ahead, tell me what’s going on.”

Corrin sighed and leaned back, his fingertips on the top of the wall preventing him from falling. “It’s just…the whole of humanity agrees that the most precious thing in the world is life, right? So the fact that we get what we want by taking it baffles me. Isn’t there any other way?”

The maid bit her bottom lip and took a moment to think. “Well, there are other ways of course. But those ways don’t work. If people disagree on something and nobody’s willing to come to a compromise, then the only option is to take out the other party. That’s the unfortunate truth, I guess.”

His train of thought was derailed when he heard his sister’s loud shouts.

Hans donned a sly smile, seemingly unaffected by Kamui’s scolding. “Are you kidding me? What could have POSSIBLY possessed you to run off into the fray like a damn idiot? The entirety of the team stayed behind, but you decided to rush forward recklessly. Do you know how Father would react if you were to die under my command?”

“Your command? Hah! Sorry girly, but I don’t remember the king putting anything under anyone’s command. Only orders you had were to protect me, and it looks like you did a wonderful job at that,” Hans responded as he shoved his arm forward, presenting a large gash.

“Ugh. We don’t have time for this…” The princess rolled up the map and signaled for everyone to group up. “Just know that Father will be made aware of your actions upon our return.” She turned to face the rest of her party, speaking loud and clear. By this point, Felicia and Corrin had made their way over to them. “Alright, good work, everyone! Now, we’ll be returning to Castle Krakenburg. Jakob and Felicia, you two go ahead and report any disruptions that may stop us. Corrin, Gunter, Hans and I will go as a group for safety’s sake. Onwards!”

With a nod, the two retainers ran ahead across the canyon, leaving the four Nohrians behind. “Gunter, you’ll lead our march back. Cavalry is good for that.”

“Would you like me to carry one of you on my horse?” The old man offered.

The princess shook her head and Gunter nodded in agreement, then kicking his gray steed and advancing forward. The party began their march across the canyon floor with their commander secretly beaming with excitement.

Their first mission had gone so well! While it was not a particularly large scale fight, she was still rather proud. The injuries had been minimal, the healers had gone completely unharmed, and Kamui had even gotten to deliver a stellar finishing blow to the general! She wanted to jump for joy! However, the young girl knew that she had to maintain her posture as a leader, so she refrained from showing any eager emotions as usual.

Her brother had also performed better than she had expected without her assistance. Even as she crossed the bridge of boulders across the chasm, she had noticed him dodging strikes and dishing out his own with incredible precision. It was true that his attacks weren’t very powerful, but they came in such quick succession and in such vital areas that it didn’t seem to matter. This was contrary to her own brute force fighting style in which she hit her opponents as hard as she could with several moments between each sword swing.

The princess had been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed the unsteady wooden bridge rocking beneath her. She would have fallen right over the edge had it not been for her brother grabbing her by the collar. “Pay attention, Sister,” he reminded her. “It’s not like you to lose focus.”

“Yes, I know. Sorry, I was just thinking about the fight. As a matter of fact, I—”

“Princess!”

Kamui fell down on her backside from the force of the flat end of Gunter’s lance slamming into her chest. The knight had blocked a strike from Hans’ ax that was intended to make contact with Kamui’s skull.

Hans scowled and rolled his neck to crack his bones. “Hah! Lucky block.”

“Hans! What is the meaning of this?!” Kamui shouted, returning to her feet. “Have you gone mad?”

The ax wielder immediately draw his weapon back and returned to swinging it, catching Gunter’s horse in its exposed neck. The horse crumpled to its side at once, giving a final dying whinny. Gunter managed to climb off just in time, but stumbled for a moment as his foot was caught under the weight of his mount’s back. With a smile, Hans used Gunter’s vulnerability to drive his ax into the old man’s side, cutting right through his armor. The old man sharply inhaled and his eyes popped, drifting over to Kamui and Corrin as the ax was pulled back.

“This…cannot…”  
Gunter did not have enough time to finish his thought, for he fell backward and over the bridge’s ropes, tumbling into the endless abyss below.

“GUNTER!” Kamui called as she leaned over the ropes only to see her oldest mentor disappear into the darkness. She looked to her brother who was frozen in place with a face of horror plastered on. She bared her sharp teeth at the smirking man before, her red eyes more fiery than ever. “You killed him, you scoundrel! Your own ally!”

Hans chuckled smugly. “Aw, what’s the matter your highness? Did I go and knock your babysitter into the ditch? How unfortunate. How about this? You can go meet up with him at the bottom!”

Kamui sidestepped a swing from above, the ax getting lodged into one of the boards of the bridge. Suddenly, her left arm began to morph into something that was only ever heard of in legends. Her skin hardened into white scales and her fingers elongated into black reptilian ones. The scales spiraled their way along her center finger, which was now around half a meter long. This transformed her arm into a sort of lance, the sharp end of which pierced Hans in the side.

The man screamed in pain, not noticing the same arm transforming once again, this time into a large reptilian maw. The maw opened wide and a blue orb of water began to manifest within it. The orb grew to about the size of two heads before flying rapidly at Hans and knocking him back across the bridge near the edge of the canyon. He sat up and inched away in shock and terror.  
“Wh-what the hell? What kind of freak are you?!”

“I want answers, Hans! Why did you provoke the Hoshidans? Why are you doing this? Why did you attack Gunter?” She hastily approached him with rage in her voice, her arm returning to its normal state while her brother stood paralyzed in the same position he had been. “Answer me!”

Hans quickly rose to his feet and grabbed his axe from beside him, raising it. He put on a large smile and laughed. “Just following your daddy’s orders, girl!” He brought the ax down on the edge of the bridge and aimed for the rope, severing the connection to the edge of the canyon.

Without all four pegs holding it in place, the bridge’s support was worthless. Corrin broke from his trance and screamed as he plummeted into the deep dark pit beneath him, flailing his limbs around in panic. His sister grabbed him and extended her hand above and attempted to take hold of any protruding rocks she could get her hands on, yet only succeeded in cutting her palm.

The twins faded into the dark, their screams soon fading into nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have the first two real combat scenes of the story with many, many more to come. I'm not all that confident with writing them, so please let me know if you have anything that you think can be improved on. As always, kudos and comments are much appreciated. Have a good one!


	3. Hoshido

Corrin awoke to the sound of birds.

He was lying flat on his back and staring up at the clear blue sky. He tried to recall what had occurred before. He was on the bridge with Gunter, Kamui, and Hans. Hans knocked Gunter off the edge, and then everything froze. The last thing he remembered was the bridge falling out from beneath him and his sister, and then nothing but the descent into the abyss below.

Was this some sort of heaven? It certainly felt like it. The grass was soft and green and the ambiance was soothing. Had the prince finally been met with death? And it such a pitiful way, too. Stuck paralyzed while his sister stood fighting. His sister…Kamui…Kamui!

“Kamui!” Corrin shot up reached for Ganglari, which remained at his side. He was armed—that was good. He rose to his feet and drew his sword before scanning the area, looking for any sign of what could have happened to him. His sister had transformed her arm…how was that possible? Perhaps Leo was instructing her in black magic without Corrin’s knowledge? Or maybe the paralysis had somehow caused him to hallucinate the entire event. Perhaps he was hallucinating right this moment?

“Corrin!”

He immediately recognized the call as the voice of Lilith, but still turned around in fear. The thing he was met with was most certainly not his Lilith. It was a floating, small reptilian fish-like creature with the same jewel as Lilith’s on its forehead. It was white, but spotted blue. It wore a bonnet with two blue ribbons on it, similar to the one Lilith wore. Just like her hair, the tips of what looked like the creature’s dorsal and caudal fins were red. The creature lay atop a floating blue orb, its short arms and legs hugging it tightly and preventing itself from slipping off. From his study of Nohrian lore, Corrin could tell that this was some kind of dragon.

The creature did not seem hostile, so Corrin did not react with action. Instead, he simply looked down in confusion. “You’re awake!” The dragon seemed to be speaking, but her mouth did not move, her voice instead echoing in Corrin’s head. “Are you alright?”

“Lilith?” Corrin asked primarily to himself. “Um…what are you?”

The dragon seemed to sigh. “Yes, it’s me. This is my true form. This ah…this might come as a shock, but I’m not actually human. I am a dragon, as you can see,” she explained, then floating in a circle to demonstrate.

“A dragon? But how? I’ve known you nearly all my life, and never once have you—”

“When you were seven, you rescued an odd looking bird in the stables. One of the horses had tried to eat it—strangely enough—and it was injured. You nursed the bird back to health. Truth be told, I revealed myself to Gunter and requested to stay with you and your sister. I felt that I had to repay you for what you did for me.”

The prince squinted his eyes in confusion. Rescuing that peculiar bird was one of his earliest memories, but…that was Lilith? She had begun working for the king not long after that, so it made sense. This was…a lot of information to take in.

“This is giving me a headache. Where even are we?”

“The Astral Plane! It’s a dimension accessible by only those gifted by the First Dragons may open. Those include you, me, your sister, and…well, that’s it.” Lilith frowned as best a dragon could. “All of the other dragons are long dead.”

Usually, Corrin would have consoled his friend in her obvious sadness, but after hearing him and Kamui mentioned, he was in awe. “Kamui and I are gifted? What do you mean?”

“You did see what she did on the bridge, yes?” Corrin nodded. He had not hallucinated that after all. “That’s a gift of the dragons. You two are their descendants! You’re royalty, afterall. Though, uh, I’m not entirely sure why the rest of your siblings aren’t gifted like you two are.”

“How would you know that that happened? Wait, you’re telling me that I’m a dragon?!

No no no, I can’t be a dragon! Look at me, I’m a human!” Corrin said while holding out his hand. “See? Human!”

“A human with pointy ears, red eyes, and white hair. If you can show me anyone else like that, then sure, I’ll believe you,” Lilith said with a chuckle. “Accept it from now, trust me. It’s easier that way. Also, I’ve been following you since you left the castle. I’m supposed to watch over you and Kamui, you know!”

Corrin’s ear twitched. “Kamui! Where is she? Is she nearby? Is she okay?” Usually, Kamui would be the one worrying about Corrin, so Lilith found that slightly amusing.

“She’s fine. She ended up pretty far from where you did, but I found her soon enough. She’s alone in the tree house right now. She woke up a while before you, so I was just here to keep an eye on you.”

“Tree house? What tree house?”

Lilith closed her eyes and her lips seemed to twist into a frown. “I already had a difficult time explaining this to Kamui. Just…okay, so this entire place is essentially one big dragon vein. So, let’s say I wanted to build a really big tree.” She turned around and focused on a particular section of the grassy field. “I would just…”

Suddenly, a large mound began to form in the grass. Within moments, a thick tree trunk erupted from the soil and grew until it stood as tall as the Dusk Dragon statue at the gates of Windmire. Branches sprouted from the trunk and leaves appeared on those until the top of the tree was completely shrouded in green. It towered high above the two dragons, dirt still falling from shaking branches.

“Like that!” Lilith turned back around to face Corrin and gave him a smile. “I basically just did that, but with a tree house. I spend a lot of my time here alone, so I tend to get bored and just make random structures, like that twisty looking rock over there. Don’t mind that now, though. Let’s get you to your sister.”

Lilith floated past Corrin and he began to follow her, taking a quick glance at the spire shaped rock nearby. The young prince noted several strange things around the area. For instance, there was a mess hall and what appeared to be a bathhouse. Corrin didn’t really think that either of those things would be necessary in a pocket dimension like this one, but then again, everyone needed to eat and bathe. He pictured Lilith entering the bathhouse all by her lonesome, dropping her towel and…

“Gods, how could I think about that at a time like this?” he whispered to himself, then uttering a silent curse.

The two came to a large tree with a small house of wood and stone built atop of it. Dense tree limbs winded across the bottom of the home, holding the structure in place like how a traditional wooden staff would hold an orb. Corrin was confused as to how even the strongest of trees could support such weight, but since he lived in a world of magic, he dismissed it.

“She’s up top. Shall we?” Lilith asked. Corrin nodded in response, his gaze still fixed on the marvel of architecture before him. As such, he did not notice the large dragon vein sigil beneath him.

The two were enveloped in a beam of bright yellow light, disappearing when the light dissipated. They reappeared in a few dozen feet in the air on the interior of the tree house. It was…homely, to say the least. It was filled with presumably empty boxes and a single purple bed in the top left corner in which Kamui sat with her hands in her lap and a despaired expression on her face.

“Hm?” She looked up and her dark eyes were immediately lit upon seeing Corrin’s face. “Oh, thank the gods. Are you unharmed?”

A wave of relief washed over Corrin as he realized that he had returned to the comforting safety of his sister’s presence. “I’m fine. And you?”

“My hand is slightly cut up, but I should be okay. Has Lilith already informed you of everything?”

The prince gave a tentative nod. “Yes. It is a little much to take in, but I’m sure we’ll accept it in time. Now, I’m guessing you would like to discuss the situation with Hans?”

Kamui scooted over on the bed, making room for her brother to sit next to her. “He said he was attacking us under ‘daddy’s orders’. That would mean Father.”

Corrin bit his lip and sat down next to her. “You’re not suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, are you? Why would Father order an attack on us?”

“That is what’s confusing me. He would have to have reason to want us gone. Maybe it was because of our disobedience regarding the prisoners?”

“Sister, do you honestly think that he would react so extremely over something so insignificant?”

“This is a man known to behead subjects for simply stumbling in his presence.”

“Yes, I understand that, but we’re his children. He wouldn’t want to hurt us.”

Kamui looked to be annoyed by her brother’s stubbornness. He was usually accepting of anything she even so much as suggested, so his doubt was incredibly frustrating. “Did you not see the look on his face when we entered the throne room after letting the prisoners go free? He looked about ready to kill us himself. He has a temper, Brother, that enough is evident. It’s not as if it’s unusual for him to suddenly turn on what seemed to be a close ally.”

“Kamui, I don’t think you understand. We are his children. Do you not realize how serious that is? Think for a moment. Would Father ever order to be brought Xander’s head? Or Camilla? Elise?”

The princess began to speak through grit teeth. “Apologies if you hadn’t noticed over the past twenty years, brother, but Father isn’t exactly fond of the two of us.”

“What?”

“He keeps us locked away in some fort far from the castle while our younger brother and sister get to stay with him. Why? By all means, we should be much more capable at combat than they are. Hell, I’m fairly certain that I am!” Kamui threw her arms up in frustration. “So, despite the fact that we’re more than prepared to defend the kingdom,” she continued, “he still keeps us isolated from everyone else. I’ve wondered why he does this ever since Leo was born and moved in with him. I told myself that it was because he didn’t know who our mother was, so perhaps he felt shameful.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Despite the fact that everyone but Xander’s mother was just a common whore.”

“Kamui!” Lilith shouted in shock.

Realizing what she had just said, Kamui swiftly covered her mouth, her brother looking on in disgust. “I…” She started. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the rest of our siblings. I was just—”

“A concubine is different from a whore, sister,” Corrin said with his eyes shut. “A concubine is specifically chosen by the king to be a part of his harem and is treated like a slightly lesser queen. A whore will open her legs for a few scraps of bread. They’re not the same thing.”

The room filled with silence for a few moments before Kamui chose to break it. “I apologize for that. Ah…Lilith, could you return us to our world? We should get back to the castle. The three of us will have to explain what went down at the fort.”

The dragon winced. “Ah…I won’t be able to return with you, I’m sorry.”

“What?” Corrin asked with a perplexed expression. “Why not? What’s the issue?”

“I haven’t had to take anyone here in forever—definitely not two people. Doing that took a lot of power, so I’m afraid that I’m stuck in this form…for a while, at least. Likely for a few months, maybe even longer. That’s alright, though! All that matters to me is that you two are safe. Anyway, I can transport you back now. When you want to come back, just focus on that desire and make a circle in the air with your arm. It might be a little odd at first, but you’ll get used to it soon, trust me.” Lilith turned around and lightly blew air, a golden circular portal then manifesting on the treehouse wall. “Good luck!”

Corrin and Kamui stood and nodded. The former was glad that he would still be able to be in contact with his maid, but was saddened that he would no longer be able to see her cute face and bashful mannerisms every day. The latter was more concerned as to how she would explain Lilith’s disappearance to her father.

“Thank you, Lilith. We shall see you again in due time.” Kamui gave a small smile while Corrin gave the dragon a gentle pat, making her giggle. He’d half expected her to be damp, but her scales were dry yet smooth and felt strangely quite pleasant.

With a wave of her stubby arm, Lilith bid the two farewell as they stepped through the portal and it sealed itself shut, leaving the dragon alone once more.

The two materialized near where they had last been, on the edge of the canyon. They looked at the collapsed bridge and grimaced, the memory of their fallen comrade creeping into their thoughts. “Gunter…“ Corrin said in a despair filled breath. Since his horse had fallen into the abyss when they did, the only sign of the man ever having been there was his blood still staining the boards of the broken bridge.

“We’ll report his death to Father when we return,” Kamui said with a grim expression. “Do you think Felicia and Jakob went back to search for us when they noticed we weren’t following them?”

“I’ll call for them.” Corrin cleared his throat and cupped his hands around his mouth, preparing to shout. “Jak—” Suddenly, he was cut off by a club wrapped in steel bands colliding with his temple, sending him crumbling to the ground and knocking him unconscious immediately.

Kamui drew her sword reflexively, but dropped it when she felt something sharp pierce the back of her neck. Reaching back, she pulled the object out and looked at it. It was a long and thin needle, the tip dripping with a thick green liquid.

She was unconscious before she could deduce exactly what it was.

* * *

Kamui awoke to the sound of cackling fire.

It took her a moment to process what had happened, but when she did, she reached for a sword that was not there. The first things she noticed were that night had fallen and that she was lying next to a campfire. She quickly sat up and looked around before a familiar face caught her eye. It was Rinkah, the Flame Tribe girl that had battled her and her brother. She sat with her legs crossed, her face lit up by the glow of the flames.

Kamui attempted to lunge at the girl, only to find that her legs had been bound at the ankles with rough rope, preventing her from standing. She looked to her left where Corrin lied, groaning as he slowly regained consciousness. To her surprise and mild offense, he was not restrained.

“Hah! I figured you might try to attack me, so I tied you up. You’re much too impulsive, Princess.” The girl spoke with a smug tone. She was leaning against a tree trunk with her knees against her chest and a condescending grin on her face. Her steel club as well as the twins’ weapons lay next to her and out of reach of the twins.

“Where are we?! Why are we here?! Untie me at once!” The girl demanded and bared her sharp teeth. “You, a Hoshidan, kidnapping Nohrian royalty? This could very well be a declaration of war!”

“You can’t declare war with a country you’re already warring with. And the Flame Tribe is completely independent from Hoshido, you imbecile! For your information, I’m going to be handing you two over to the Hoshidan authorities.” Rinkah flashed the princess a smile while lightly rocking Corrin in order to further rouse him.

Kamui grumbled, but kept her nerve by squeezing her eyes shut and speaking through grit teeth. “Rinkah, yes? I urge you to release me at once. You’ve kidnapped and bound a princess of an enemy nation. That is a serious offense, and—”

“Sister,” Corrin moaned, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. “Don’t try to resist…there’s no point. Just go along with it and we’ll be fine. Rebelling will only cause more trouble for all of us.”

For once, Kamui figured that Corrin was right. Unless she could somehow break the ropes and grab hold of her sword, it was pointless. Kamui heeded her brother’s words and kept her mouth shut, but still shouted profanities in her head.

The ninja from the castle—Kaze—stepped out from a nearby pitched tent and smiled upon seeing the Nohrian royals. Unlike the other three, his expression indicated that he was perfectly calm and content with the situation. “Ah. Lord Corrin and Lady Kamui, you’ve awaken. Rinkah, gather up the tent. We shall begin our march to Castle Shirasagi at dawn; we should hope to arrive before noon.”

He stared at the two for a while as Rinkah began to gather the supplies within the tent. His focused gaze along with unchanging expression made Kamui feel uneasy, like he was staring right into her.

“I am glad that we found you,” he said as he finally stopped staring at the twins, instead choosing to look at a bird that had perched on top of a nearby tree branch.

“Huh?” Corrin tilted his head. “Glad you found us?”

“Everything will be explained to you both soon,” Rinkah assured him. “Feel free to untie your sister if you want—it’ll be a hassle to have her hop the whole way. Just be sure to keep her in check.”

Kamui gave Corrin a death stare, intimidating him into untying her ropes. Once she was free, the princess stood and stretched her legs with a frustrated sigh. “Let’s just go already…”

The four of them began their march at the first sight of daylight. Corrin thanked the gods that they were not very far from their destination to begin with, as it only took them a few hours to make their way through the rolling snowy hills. They trekked through the terrain until they could overlook the Hoshidan capitol, Shirasagi. The overall feel of the country was vastly different from that of Nohr, something that was immediately noticeable to the twins. Nohr was dark and grey and gloomy; Hoshido was bright and white and radiant. Corrin felt that it was a nice change of pace from the usual, while Kamui simply wanted to return to the country she had known all her life.

“We will be making our way to Castle Shirasagi for your transfer to the Hoshido royal family. There, you will be—”

“Hoshido royal family?” Kamui sneered. “This girl told us we were to be handed over to the authorities!”

“They _are_ the authorities, your highness,” Rinkah told her in a patronizing manner. “And I’m not simply just a girl. I am the daughter of the Flame Tribe chieftain. So, princess to princess, I suggest that you stop interrupting at once.”

They continued the march before Kamui could resume arguing.

When the party arrived in town, Corrin could tell that everyone knew they were outsiders. There was a stark contrast between the Nohrian royals and the Hoshidan escorts, mainly in appearance and how confident they walked. Kaze remained calm while moving throughout town. Rinkah kept her eyes on the two. Kamui stood stiff and nervous, eyes darting from face to face. Corrin was also nervous, but more about the unfamiliarity than what was to come. The Hoshidan civilians gave them strange looks as it was obvious that they did not belong here.

Castle Shirasagi was a grand marvel of architecture, built atop a mountain that towered over the city. The mountain was covered in lush green grass and had winding paths that seemed to defy the laws of physics, twisting in every direction. It reminded Corrin of something he would see in an abstract painting and he couldn’t help but smile at the sheer spectacle of it all.

Finally, the quartet arrived at the front gates of the castle. They walked right past the guards, presumably because of the authority that Kaze and Rinkah held. The walls of the castle were lined with shields, swords, quilts and portraits of Hoshido’s rulers, both past and present. The previous king was King Sumeragi, a noble warrior ruler who had been assassinated by Nohr years ago. The current ruler was Queen Mikoto, Sumeragi’s wife. She was said to be a kind and compassionate queen, loving to all of her subjects and perfectly capable of keeping her nation in prosperity. This was the woman the twins assumed that they would be meeting shortly as they stood before the doors of the throne room, the feeling in their chests being much different than the one they felt when looking at those of Castle Krakenburg.

Kaze and Rinkah took a few steps back and Corrin looked to them in confusion. “Well?” Kaze began. “Go on then.”

Corrin hesitantly pushed through the doors and stepped into the large and extravagant throne room. The walls were adorned with lacy flags and other decorations, emphasizing the eastern feel. The throne itself, however, was a modest size.

Before the throne stood a tall man in red armor with long brown hair that stuck out through his helmet and fell down to his waist. His scarlet and white armor made him look like the warrior king Sumeragi himself. Next to him was a slim and black haired woman with her ponytail held up by a golden crown, wearing a snug white dress and bearing a beauty mark below her lip.

The man smiled. “Thank you for your work, Kaze and Rinkah.”

The two smiled back. “You’re welcome, Lord Ryoma,” Kaze responded. “We will be taking our leave now. You have my congratulations.” He bowed and the two closed the throne room doors before retreated down the hall, leaving the twins alone with these strangers.

“Lord Ryoma,” Corrin mumbled. “You would be the eldest prince of Hoshido, yes? And this woman here is Queen Mikoto.”

“You would be correct.”

Kamui bared her teeth at the Hoshidans, the older woman simply looking before the two with warm eyes. “W-well, what are you waiting for? If you’re going to execute us, then get on with it!”

The queen stepped forward, biting her quivering bottom lip. Her hands were held together in front of her, though it was still evident that she was shaking. “It…it really is you, isn’t it?”

“What? My apologies, but have we met before?” Corrin asked with an eyebrow raised.

Mikoto suddenly threw her arms around the two and pulled them into a tight hug, heavy tears beginning to roll down her face. Corrin could feel her body shake with each unsteady breath. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much! You’ve returned at last! My sweet children!”

Corrin swore his heart skipped a beat.

“What?!” Kamui wiggled and squirmed her way out of Mikoto’s grasp then stared at her with wide eyes. “Your children? What are you on about?”

Corrin was completely and utterly shocked. It took him a moment to process what she had said, but he was not sure how to feel when he understood. “Children…” he whispered. Was she telling the truth? If she wasn’t lying, then that would mean that Corrin would finally have his most burning question about himself answered. He had a mother.

The queen looked hurt by her supposed daughter’s rejection, but understood nonetheless. She was a stranger claiming to be the woman who birthed them, so of course Kamui wouldn’t believe her right away. She sniffled and wiped her tears. “Y-you wouldn’t remember. You were young, oh, you were so young…you two were abducted by Nohrian forces who were invading. They killed your father and stole you away, like you were just the spoils of the battle! They took you from the kingdom…” Mikoto balled her fists and attempted to cease her tears, but to no avail. “They took you from me.”

“But…King Garon is my father. He’s raised us since we were infants,” Corrin said, looking rather despondent. He was not sure if he believed her, but seeing the woman be this broken up caused a pain in his heart. “This isn’t making any sense—I’m sorry.”

Ryoma scowled. “Is that what they told you? Despicable. I remember the day you were taken…I am Ryoma, your older brother.”

“No!” Kamui shouted. “Xander is my older brother! Camilla, Leo, and Elise, they’re my siblings! I’ve known them for as long as I can remember!”

“The Nohrian royal children, yes…they’re not your real family. We are. Garon kidnapped you and raised you as his own…what a wretched man. The day you were taken was a day that us Hoshidans will never forget. At the time—eighteen years ago—there was no full blown war. However, there were growing hostilities between our kingdom and Nohr. The war began with a betrayal. Garon made the journey here to Shirasagi under false pretenses. He said that there would be a peace conference.” Ryoma grit his teeth with anger. “No…he brought his army with him and took us by surprise. He killed our father. To make matters worse, he even kidnapped the newest additions to the Hoshidan royal family. Corrin and Kamui.”

This information was a lot to take in for the twins. All their lives they had lived under the assumption that King Garon had fathered them. They had lived under the assumption that Elise, Leo, Xander and Camilla had been their siblings, and now they were being told that it had all been a lie?

Corrin stumbled back slightly. “I…I feel lightheaded. You’re my mother? You’re my brother? That’s…that’s astonishing.”

Kamui, however, shook her head and grit her teeth. “No. I don’t believe it. What is this, some kind of trick to get us to turn on Nohr? Would you like to learn the inner workings of its military so that you can exploit it to gain the upper hand in the war? I’d like to see you try!”

“Kamui! Think about it. Father has never told us who our mother was. Xander and Camilla don’t have any stories of us from before we were two. Gods, did they know of this?”

Ryoma placed a reassuring hand on Kamui’s shoulder, but she jerked it away and glared at him. “Don’t you dare lay your hands on me, swine.”

“...This hurts, sister,” he said with a look of disappointment. “Though, I understand. You don’t have to believe us immediately. I’d be skeptical if I was in your position, too. But…you don’t remember any of this? Not a single memory? You weren’t that young when it happened, you know.”

Corrin shook his head. “Kamui and I don’t remember our childhood very well. We don’t know why, but anything before we were about six is a blur. We were told that we somehow developed amnesia.”

“You were taken at the age of two, so that would be four years of no one knowing what was happening to you,” Ryoma stated, closing his eyes. “We’ll have to find that information soon. Who knows what they could have done to you?”

Mikoto gradually ceased her crying, nodding to herself and wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “Kamui. My dear daughter, Kamui. You don’t believe us? Come, come. I’ll show you your old room.” The queen gently took Kamui’s hand into her own and the princess couldn’t find it within her heart to pull away. Corrin followed the two, then looked behind him at Ryoma.

“I shall stay here. You two just get used to the castle.”

The young man nodded and tried to keep up with Mikoto and Kamui, who were zipping through the castle halls quickly. It was clear that Mikoto was eager to show them proof of their heritage now that she finally had them again.

The three of them entered a modestly sized room that was obviously meant for children judging by the bright pictures on the walls and the toys scattered about the floor. Against the wall, there were two small white beds that looked to be made for toddlers. Most of the toys around the room came in identical pairs, presumably one for each twin. On a small table, there was a child’s drawing crafted with oils.

“What’s this?” Corrin asked.

Mikoto smiled widely, overcome with nostalgia. “Oh! I haven’t seen this in so long. This is a drawing that Kamui did of the family.” She pointed to the crude depiction of a red haired child. “That’s Hinoka, your older sister. She’s off patrolling right now. Sakura—your younger sister, wasn’t born yet. You see the baby with the silver hair? That’s Takumi, your younger brother. He’s in town at the moment. Oh, there’s me! That’s your father, and that’s Ryoma!” She gestured to two children in the front of the picture. “That’s you two. Oh, how small you were…”

Kamui’s expression had softened. Perhaps…perhaps she was being told the truth? Mikoto and Ryoma sure seemed to believe it, and from what she had read, Hoshido was not the type of nation to use deceit in order to assure victory.

“We couldn’t touch anything in the room after you were taken from us. It would’ve been like we were giving up…that’s why everything is all scattered. That’s exactly how it was left before that day.” The queen looked to Kamui with a hopeful smile. “I pray that this has done something to change your mind.”

Kamui bit her tongue. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she was having conflicted feelings. She was usually so adamant about every decision she made and every word she said, but now she did not know what to think.

“I…I don’t want to believe you, but…it seems like you’re telling the truth.” She looked at Mikoto with her round red eyes. “Am I really your daughter?”

Biting her lip, Mikoto nodded and began to tear up again. “Yes, my love, yes.” She took a step forward and threw her arms around the girl, resting her head on her shoulder.

There was no resistance this time.

* * *

Ryoma knocked on the door of the bedroom Corrin and Kamui were to stay in until everything was worked out. He peered into the room where the royals were lying on their beds in their undergarments. The room was dark, only illuminated by the setting sun’s rays entering through the shades of a large window. The Hoshidan Prince quickly covered his eyes.

“My apologies.”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Corrin said with a sigh. “It’s not like what we’re wearing is exactly scandalous.” Him and his sister were wearing the same brown undershorts, Kamui also wearing a matching brown sports bra. This would be considered incredibly modest dressing for a pair of royals.

“Ah…” Ryoma reentered the room, still attempting to avert his gaze. Unlike the twins, this prince seemed to still be concerned with regal manner. “Have you settled in?”

Kamui grumbled. “I find it difficult to settle into a new place when I’ve been locked in one fortress for nearly all my life. It might as well be as long as we’ve been alive, since we don’t remember anything from before that.”

Ryoma grimaced. “I see. Well, I hope that changes with time. I hope to get to know my younger brother and sister more.”

“That’s if we’re staying in the first place.” Kamui scoffed and rolled over to lie on her back and stand at the ceiling. “Don’t forget that the Nohrian army will likely be searching for us. A prince and a princess have disappeared. That’s sure to cause some chaos.”

“A prince and princess that no one knows exists,” Corrin added.

Ryoma cleared his throat. “About that…going off of the assumption that you’ll be staying with us, the council has decided to set up a meeting with some Nohrian representatives to discuss your residence with us. We are hoping to set up a sort of transfer.”

“Transfer?” Kamui asked, annoyed. “You say that as if we’re some kind of artifact. We’re not. We’re people and we can make our own decisions. If we decide to stay here, then that’s that. If we decide to return home, then so be it.”

“Kamui…”

The Hoshidan prince sighed. He seemed to be growing tired of Kamui being so difficult. “Yes…you are not incorrect. But like I said, we’re going off of the assumption that you’ll be staying. You’ve just been reunited with your family, after all.” He gave a hopeful smile. “Right…so, tomorrow, we’ve planned for you to head off to the north with a small party to go see your sisters. They’re currently on a sort of scouting mission to secure areas of Hoshido. We’ve been having some issues with some unwanted guests recently, and they’re just there to make sure that everything will be safe. Rinkah and Kaze have told me that you’re fighters, so I’m assuming that you’ll be fine on your own. Your weapons are in the storage room and will be restored to you tomorrow morning.”

“And if we refuse?” The princess asked.

“This isn’t exactly something that you can opt out of. I’m sorry.”

As Kamui rolled her eyes, her supposed older brother looked to the side. “I’ll leave you to it, then. If there’s anything you need, simply call for someone and we’ll try to get it to you. Ah…goodnight.” The prince then walked away and closed the door, leaving the twins alone again.

“Gods,” Kamui began with an angered tone. “I can’t believe he expects us to just do whatever he wants! We’ve only just arrived and now he’s treating us as if we’ve known each other all our lives. The nerve of it all, I swear.”

Her brother shuffled in his bed nervously. “Well…perhaps you should try to be more considerate. He’s trying his best, and it really does seem that the queen is our mother. I think we should try to be a little more open, you know?”

“Open to strangers who kidnap us and then try to claim that we’re related to them? I’m not going from princess of Nohr to princess of Hoshido, Corrin.”

Corrin shifted in his bed to look at his sister with an eyebrow raised. “Wait, you’re not staying?”

“What? Of course not!” She took a moment to think before she spoke. “I mean, how can we just leave a place we’ve called home behind without hesitation? We can’t just abandon our siblings. Imagine the look on little Elise’s face when she finds out that her big sister and brother left them without a word. She’d be ruined, Corrin.”

“You’re not wrong…” Corrin bit his bottom lip. “But this is our blood family we’re talking about here, Sister. How could we arrive and then leave like that? I know we just met them, but they’re as much our family as our Nohrian one.”

Kamui shook her head. “Even then, it’s Hoshido. Think of all the things we’ve heard of them growing up!”

“What? That they’re pleasant, peaceful, and usually pacifists?”

“That they’re the enemy, Brother. Even if you…even if we might not be Nohrian by blood, we’re Nohrian by heart. Do you not understand that?” The girl asked with slight frustration in her voice. “How could you even think about betraying your people like that?”

“Look, I get it. Obviously we’re Nohrian, even if not by blood. But I won’t be betraying anybody. If I went back to Nohr, I would be betraying the Hoshidans. We’re Hoshidan. They’re our people, too. You don’t wish to betray your people? You’re going to have to do it either way.”

Kamui sat up and leaned forward with a glare. “These aren’t our people. We have no ties and bonds to them. Honestly, I—”

The door opened again. No one entered for a while. Then, a short boy entered the room slowly. His grey hair was set in a long ponytail tied together by one white tie at the base and he had a stringless bow attached to his back. He stared at the two for several moments, not saying anything.

Kamui grew annoyed as usual. “May I help you?” she asked through grit teeth.

“You’re Corrin and Kamui, right?”

Corrin nodded slowly, staring at the boy. “Ah…yes. We are. May I help you?”

The intruder squinted his eyes and took a step back. “You better not try anything. If you do anything to endanger my family or the citizens of Hoshido, I won’t hesitate to take you out.”

Shocked at the sudden hostility, Kamui gave him a death stare. “Excuse me? How dare you speak to royalty in such a manner! Who are you to threaten us like that?”

The boy stood firm and strong, not letting her break his resolve. “I am Prince Takumi of Hoshido! Son of Queen Mikoto! I’ve been told that the twins that I’ve heard so many stories about had returned. You were raised in Nohr. Nohrians…all they ever do is lie and cheat.” He shook his head and grit his teeth. “I won’t let you deceive me.”

“So you’re Takumi?” Corrin smiled despite the clear disdain coming from the other boy. “Yes, Mother has told us about you. You’re our little brother.” Kamui was taken aback by the use of the word “Mother”, but she held her tongue.

“You’re no brother of mine! And you no sister!” It was clear that this boy was not one to be taken lightly. “You may have Mother and Ryoma fooled. You might even manage to convince Sakura and Hinoka. But not me. I’ll keep an eye on you.” He began to step back and exit the room, his gaze not leaving the siblings. “Tread lightly, because I’ll always have an arrow poised on your back. Don’t forget it.”  
The door slammed shut.

Kamui slammed her fist into the frame of the bed and let out a frustrated shout. “Damn him! Does he not know that Mikoto and Ryoma are the ones that claimed us in the first place? Gods, the ignorance of it all really gets on my nerves!”

Her brother let his head go slack and looked at her with disappointment. “Come on, Sister. He’s just like you. You have your doubts about our heritage and so does he. You both seem pretty hot-headed.”

“I AM NOT—” Kamui cut herself off, then taking a deep breath. “...I am not hot-headed. I simply have a short fuse.”

With a sigh, Corrin yawned and stretched his arms. “You’d better calm down quickly then. I’m going to sleep early. It’s a new place, after all. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We’ll be meeting our sisters! Isn’t that exciting?”

As Corrin made himself comfortable under the bed sheets, Kamui grumbled. “If they’re anything like the brothers we’ve met, then no.” She turned to face opposite her closest brother, staring at the wall to get her mind off of things. “...I don’t like it here, Corrin. I just want to go home. Don’t you want to go, too? Back to our brothers and sisters?”

“Mm. I want to see them again, yes, but I’d also like to take the time to get to know our other brothers and sisters. I…I think this could be the start of something special,” Corrin said optimistically. “Imagine. We could be the people that bring peace Nohr and Hoshido! You and I!” He swooned with a wide smile on his face, his cheeks flushed red. “Just imagine it, Sister. Two warring countries unified by the lost prince and princess. Isn’t that amazing?”

A small, faint smile was born on Kamui’s face, but she quickly hid it from herself using the bed sheets. She crawled under and yawned. “It doesn’t sound bad, I suppose. But…”

“What is it?”

The princess shook her head. “Never mind. Goodnight, Corrin.”

“Goodnight, Kamui.”

* * *

Hoshido’s north was colder than anything the twins had ever experienced. The hills of the border were covered in bright white snow that was now covered in footsteps left by the party. Ryoma had decided it best if himself, the twins, Kaze, and Rinkah go along on this little quest. Afterall, it was not as if they were going in with the intention to fight, but the prince thought that it would be best to have some manpower just in case. This proved to be a good decision, as they had to cut down several beasts along the way. These creatures were large and green with black masks covering their face, broken shackles on their wrists. Their muscular bodies struck fear into Corrin’s heart, but he quickly learned that they weren’t unbeatable when Ryoma sliced clean through one’s thick neck.

“Those are the Faceless,” Ryoma had said. “Manifested and animated by Nohr’s finest mages. I’ve never seen magic like this before, but they seem to have created some form of life. They are here to cause chaos within Hoshido and do nothing more. Cheap tactics, if you ask me.”

After a long march, Kamui spotted two women in the midst of a horde of Faceless. One had short cut red hair and wielded a spear, while the other had neck length pink hair and held a healing staff in her hands. This one was kneeling down and trembling behind the taller one, who had a more fierce look in her eye. Next to them knelt a white pegasus with an oddly bent wing. The redhead was Hinoka if Corrin remembered correctly, while the one wearing a priestess’ outfit was Sakura.

Ryoma grit his teeth and drew his sword, starting a moderately paced jog. “Looks like we got here right on time. Everyone, protect them! Dispatch the Faceless!”

Before everyone could scatter, Corrin quickly stopped them. “Wait! There’s a village to the south—I saw the sign a ways back! It shouldn’t be very far now. Rinkah, Kaze, can you two make sure no harm comes to the villagers while we deal with everything here?”

Kaze gave a nod. “As you command.” He quickly ran off towards the village, Rinkah following him close behind. Now that the village had protection, Corrin gave a signal to his sister and drew Ganglari, running off into the fray.

Ryoma slashed through beast after beast with his long sword. If Kamui recalled correctly, it was a katana, a Hoshidan blade. The sharp edge of this one was blue and crackling with electricity. With a wave of the sword, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and left three of the faceless charred and smoking, lying limp on the ground before fading into black smoke.

While staring at Ryoma’s peculiar blade, a goliath of a monster grabbed Kamui by the arm, his hand being several times thicker than what it was grasping. The princess screamed as the Faceless squeezed and began to raise her into the air, using his other hand to make a fist and preparing to punch the dangling fighter.

Just then, Corrin ran by and stabbed the beast in the back of the knee, causing it to let out a hoarse cry and drop his sister. Kamui quickly recovered by taking her blade and spinning it before stabbing up into the monster’s neck, Corrin quickly following up with a decapitation.

Ryoma continued on slashing through any monster that dared get in the way of him and his sisters. Corrin and Kamui followed, cutting down anything their older brother missed. The trio finally arrived at the sisters’ location, where Hinoka was doing her best to defend Sakura.

“Ryoma!” Hinoka gave a wide smile and took a moment to catch her breath. “Thank the gods you came. These beasts just came out of nowhere and attacked us! My steed’s wing is injured, so—” She noticed Corrin and Kamui staring at her and looked at them with curiosity. Their hair and eyes sparked an immediate thought in her head, but she kept it to herself. “Ah…who are these two?”

“We will get to that later. There’s still a fight to be fought!” Ryoma continued to run forward and slashed at a Faceless of a hulking size to the left of the two Hoshidan princesses, but his attack barely had an effect. He was knocked back several meters by a backhand, the monster roaring.

“We can’t beat it one on one,” Kamui informed them. “Take it on from every angle. Sakura, right? You stay in the back and heal us!”

The short girl was seemingly panicked, but bit her lip and rapidly nodded nonetheless. “A-alright! I can do that!”

Ryoma stood back up and charged forward with Corrin, Hinoka, and Kamui. He slashed over and over at the legs, knocking the beast off balance. Corrin used his above average agility to run up the Faceless’ back and attack at the face and neck while Kamui dashed around to distract it, occasionally getting the cheap shot in. Hinoka jabbed at the chest with her spear, weakening the monster. Any time it managed to land a shot on any of them, Sakura would heal them right up with her staff.

Corrin straddled his legs around the creature’s thick neck, drawing his sword across it and making it roar a guttural groan. “Sister, finish it!”

“I’ve got it!” With several spins of her blade, Kamui jumped into the air and slashed downwards, making a large vertical gash along the Faceless’ body. After Corrin flipped off of it, it fell forward into the snow and vanished, ending the battle.

Everyone was out of breath, Hinoka leaning on her spear for support. A quick signal from Kaze told them that all was well in the village. “Excellent work,” Kamui said with a smile. “Ryoma, you’re a respectable swordsman, I’ll give you that.”

“I could say the same for you. Our fighting styles are vastly different, but you make the most of yours.”

“So, I’ll ask again,” Hinoka said, standing up straight. “Who are you two? New recruits for the army? Additional retainers for Sakura and I?”

Corrin realized that he had been so swept up in the battle that he hadn’t introduced himself. “Right, right. Apologies for my lack of manners. My name is Corrin! This is my sister, Kamui.”

Sakura froze. Hinoka’s breathing stopped. “Corrin and…Kamui?” She shook her head and looked to Ryoma, who simply responded with a slight smile. The princess returned her gaze to the twins and her eyes quickly filled with tears, exhaling in staggered breaths. “I…I…“

“Hinoka?” Sakura asked quietly.

The redhead burst into tears and started to bawl, pulling the two into a tight hug. “Eighteen years! Eighteen years! After all this time, I can’t believe this! Y-you’re back! But how?”

“You recall Kaze and Rinkah being captured? Well, once they returned, they informed me of their encounter with a pair of Nohrian twins who shared the same names as our lost brother and sister. I sent them out on an extraction mission to retrieve the two, and so here they are.” Ryoma usually stoic expression suddenly turned to one of pure joy. “I’ve been waiting for the moment you would get to meet them.”

Hinoka began to laugh gleefully, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. “D-do you remember me? I’m your big sister, Hinoka! We used to play all the time! Oh! Once, the three of us broke into Yukimura’s office and you two shredded his papers with your teeth. We were never even caught!”

Corrin smiled. He wasn’t sure who Yukimura was, but the sheer excitement in Hinoka’s eyes brought him so much happiness that he did not care to ask.“That sounds wonderful. But Kamui and I…we don’t remember much of our childhood. I’m certain that if we did, we would’ve been here years ago.”

Sniveling, Hinoka pushed her hair behind her ear and nodded. “That’s okay. You’re here now…gods, you’ve gotten so big, Corrin. You’re taller than me!” She turned and looked at her little sister. “And you, Kamui. You’re beautiful. Your hair’s gotten so long…”

“Ah…thank you,” Kamui quietly responded before pressing her lips together.

Sakura stared up at her older siblings with a small smile. “I’ve never m-met you two, but I’ve heard a lot of stories. It’s nice to meet you.”

The twins nodded and gave the girl a smile in return. “You, too,” they said in unison.

“We should head back to the castle,” Ryoma stated. “It…It would be nice to have the whole family together again. Hinoka, Sakura, I’ll explain to you the situation on the way back.”

Hinoka nodded and bit her lip as the party began the march back to the castle, Rinkah and Kaze hastily returning to them.

* * *

A ways away from Castle Shirasagi was a large pond.

The twins had been made aware of this by hearing a couple in town talking about sneaking away after nightfall for some “fun”, as they had described it. Kamui couldn’t blame them; it was a beautiful pond. The waters were a perfect blue and the green grass of the shore made the vibrant color truly pop.

The twins sat on the edge of the lakeside. Kamui had suggested they skip rocks to pass the time, but Corrin did not want to ruin the calm water’s surface. They were not planning to be at the lake for long—only until the dinner between the Hoshidan royal family was about to start. They were of course to be included.

“Me, Hoshidan princess.” Kamui huffed and continued mumbling to herself. Corrin did not notice, however, for he was distracted by a faint voice in the distance.

“You hear that, right?” Corrin asked.

Kamui shrugged. “Barely. It sounds like singing.”

The young grunted as he rose to his feet, scanning the area with his eyes. “I’m going to try to find the source. Are you coming?”

Corrin helped his sister up after a simple nod. The two began to walk alongside the pond’s edge, the voice getting louder and louder as they went.

They stopped once they could fully make out the melodic words being sung.

“Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time.” The two nearly collapsed. The singing was absolutely beautiful—easily the best they’d ever had the pleasure of hearing. “The path is yours to climb.”  
After a bit more walking, they finally were able to lay their eyes on the source. It was a woman with long blue hair wearing a white head dress embroidered with golden lace. She donned a white dress cut at the right leg, blue ribbons wrapping around her abdomen. From her neck hung a gold pendant that almost resembled a rose with a lapis colored gem in it. Her golden eyes stared right at the two.

She was absolutely stunning.

“Ah…” she said once she noticed the two.

Corrin went into a panic immediately and raised his hands in apology. “S-sorry! We didn’t mean to be intrusive or anything of the sort. We were just lost in your singing. Oh, where are my manners? I’m—”

“You must be Princess Kamui and Prince Corrin,” the woman said in a soft voice. “Yes, I have heard of you already. You arrived yesterday, yes?” Corrin responded with a nod. “I am Azura, a princess of Nohr. Though, I suppose it would be former princess now.”

“Princess of Nohr?” Corrin asked in a perplexed manner. “What? Surely I would have heard of you.”

Azura shook her head and closed her eyes. “I’m afraid that I’ve been here nearly my whole life. Shortly after you and your sister were taken, Hoshido retaliated against Nohr and stole me from them. Of course, that wasn’t their initial intention. They’d set out to get you back, but you had soldiers guarding you from every direction. I, however, was left alone, and so they went for the next best thing and took me.” Corrin couldn’t tell, but he swore he saw the faintest smile break out on her face. “I suppose we’ve both been hostages for most of our lives.”

Corrin awkwardly laughed. He did not know that Garon had another child. It was yet another thing Xander and Camilla must have kept from him. “I’m sorry that what happened to us affected you so greatly. Have they at least treated you well? For the most part, we’ve had a nice life.”

“Yes. The people of Hoshido have treated me as their own. Even the queen thinks of me as a daughter.”

The young prince’s expression darkened. The ruler of Hoshido treated another Nohrian noble like her own child. She’d shown love to someone who she should’ve hated. Someone unrelated by blood and born to the enemy was treated like a daughter.

And yet, the queen’s blood daughter rejected her.

This thought brought Corrin’s attention to Kamui. “Kamui? You haven’t said a word.”

The princess snapped out of her daze, blinking a few times. “What? Oh, my apologies. I seemed to have entered a trance of some sort.” Corrin could tell immediately that this was an attempt to dissuade Azura from thinking any more of her period of staring. “Your story is an interesting one, I think. Do you…do you think you could go back? Back to Nohr?”

“And live out my life among people who are strangers to me?” Azura shook her head. “No. If I was given a choice, I would prefer to stay here in Hoshido.”

Kamui gave her brother a smirk.

“After all, it’s the more peaceful and pleasant of the two.”

Corrin gave one in return.

“Well?” Azura began. “What about you two? What will you do now that you know your true heritage? Are you to stay here in Hoshido or return to Nohr?”

“We aren’t entirely sure yet.” Corrin bit his bottom lip. “We have reasons for both options, but we disagree on what would be the right choice. It’s fine, though. We have time.”

“Actually, you had better make a decision fast. With the council holding a meeting with Nohr soon, the choice might not even be yours. Let us hope that Nohr does not grow more hostile afterwards. Gods know how they like to feign peace.” Azura looked to the sun and sighed. “I must be getting back to my quarters now. It was nice meeting you two. I’ll see you at dinner.”

The twins waved farewell as the enigmatic woman left. Once she was gone, Corrin looked down at his sister. “Really, Kamui? We’ve spoken about this numerous times.”

“What? Oh, please. It’s not like we were in the middle of a battle. It’s harmless. You worry too much.” The princess spoke quickly, attempting to hide her flushed cheeks.

“You do realize that your life plan for the two of us is to marry and have children, right? You can’t exactly go through with that if you lust after every pretty girl you see.”

Shaking her head, Kamui began to walk back to the castle before the sun could duck behind the horizon. “It’s not as if I proposed to her. Am I not allowed to appreciate beauty when I see it?”

“You were staring at her when we were supposed to be having a conversation.”

“Well at least I don’t turn into a bumbling fool like you do around men!”

Corrin shushed her in a panic, scanning the area to make sure no one had heard. “You’re not supposed to speak of that in public!”

Kamui gave a small chuckle and playfully shoved him. “What? Afraid people will make fun of you? Aaaw, my poor little brother,” she teased.

Corrin smiled. This was something he didn’t get to see often. His sister was usually serious and proper, so it was nice to see her joking around. The topic at hand was something they had only shared with each other—and Kamui with one other—primarily because Corrin was too paranoid about what people would think if they ever were to find out.

Kamui had come to terms with it fairly quickly. Around the time she was ten, she had found herself staring at pretty maids that passed through the fortress, or spending more time with any one of her father’s concubines whenever she visited the castle. She eventually realized exactly what was going on and was perfectly fine with it.

Her brother was a different story. He wasn’t so much attracted to the big burly soldiers that made up the Nohrian army, but more so the delicate and feminine boys that he would sometimes see when a noble meeting with his father would bring along their sons. He figured it was only a phase since he was still attracted to the pretty girls he would occasionally see. He had told his sister about this and she’d quickly confirmed his suspicions, yet he went on denying it until about the time he was sixteen, though even then was terrified at the notion of anyone finding out.

Much to Corrin’s pleasure, this brought them closer together. Kamui was less distant after this revelation and it was around that time that the two became inseparable duo they were now, even if Corrin did annoy his sister frequently.

When the two arrived back at Castle Shirasagi, they were stopped by Ryoma as they walked down the long hallway in which their room located. He placed a hand on Kamui’s shoulder to get her attention. “Ah…I’ve been informed that you’ve spoken with Takumi.”

“Takumi?” Kamui had to recall the name. “Ah yes, our _other_ brother. He does not seem to be fond of us.”

“Yes. He has a problem trusting new people. It doesn’t help that he’s upset that we brought you two along to see Hinoka and Sakura yet excluded him.” Ryoma sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I apologize for him. He really can be a handful at times…”

Corrin shook his head. “It’s fine. Kamui acted nearly the same, though she seems to have warmed up to the idea of having another family. Isn’t that right, Sister?”

The girl crossed her arms and hid behind her bangs. “I suppose it isn’t too horrible. Afterall, I have always wanted to know where I came from, and now I do. So…thank you for that, Ryoma.”

“So, when is the meeting with the council scheduled?” Corrin asked curiously. “Sister and I would like to know how much time we have left to decide on the future. This is a big decision, after all.”

“Mother spoke to them this morning and they have arranged for Nohrian representatives to arrive for the meeting tomorrow! After a public announcement in the town square, the meeting on your fate will be held in the council room. We’ll finally get to know whether or not you’ll be staying with us,” Ryoma said with a warm smile.

Kamui grimaced while Corrin beamed. She was hoping that she would have more time to think things over. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to live here in Hoshido with her biological brothers and sisters or return to Nohr. It would be ideal if she could stay in Hoshido and move in her Nohrian siblings, but she knew that that was impossible.

“That’s great! Oh, it’ll be so nice to get to meet the townspeople. Come to think of it, this would be my first real interaction with commoners.” Corrin gave a slight chuckle. “And they’re not even Nohrian.”

“C-Corrin,” Kamui cleared her throat and tugged at her brother’s arm. “We should be getting ready for dinner. Washing up and what not.”

While he could tell that his sister was just eager to get away from Ryoma, he wasn’t opposed to obliging. He knew how uncomfortable his sister could get and wasn’t about to be the reason she had to suffer through that. “You’re right. Ryoma, I’ll see you soon.”

The eldest brother nodded and left, leaving the twins to scurry off to their room.

After a quick bath and a conversation about how different Hoshido is from Nohr, the twins put on the outfits that had been picked out for them by Mikoto. Corrin wore a typical tuxedo with a black jacket and fuchsia vest tied together with a pink tie while his sister donned a long silk dress cut at the thigh. She figured she should put her hair up for this, so that’s exactly what she did. With a black hair tie she had delivered to her, she put her hair in a ponytail that fell down to just passed her neck.

A few minutes after they had finished dressing, one of the castle’s attendants came to their door to escort them to the dining hall. It was not far from their room, only being about a two minute walk. Corrin was fascinated by the oriental feel of the room, but Kamui was not impressed. The room was much smaller than Castle Krakenburg’s dining hall and the table itself had short legs and was far more intimate in scale. Even the chairs completely lacked legs, something that made Kamui tilt her head. The entrance itself was a sliding paper door that was barely taller than Ryoma. All around the room were hanging wall scrolls depicting old art, ancient proverbs, as well as a single family portrait. Unlike the crude drawing that Corrin and Kamui had made years ago, this one portrayed them in a more professional manner. Mikoto and Sumeragi stood side by side with Ryoma and Hinoka in front of them, wide smiles on their faces. Mikoto held a newborn Takumi in her arms while Sumeragi had one hand on Corrin’s head and another on Kamui’s. Both the twins had blushing faces complete with shining smiles and looked like they were having the time of their lives.

“It took us a long time to get you two to stand still for that portrait, you know,” Mikoto said when she noticed Kamui staring. The princess snapped her attention to the queen, who was on her knees atop a cushion with her hands in her lap and wearing a lovely pink yukata with a floral pattern tied together by a salmon colored belt around her waist. “This was…a few months before you were taken. You were two, so that means that Ryoma was seven, Hinoka was five, and Takmui would have just been born.”

Corrin smiled back and began to walk towards the table, his sister slowly following behind. “Five and seven? That would make you both older than my other elder siblings. How old are you, Sakura?”

Sakura put her fist to her chin and shuffled in her chair as Corrin knelt down. She was wearing a white yukata similar to her mother’s, but with her namesake flower patterned across it. “I’m seventeen, a little older than Princess Elise. Mother was pregnant with me when you two were taken.” She looked to Takumi’s grumbling face and frowned. He was wearing a simple gray kimono. “Ah…Takumi here just turned eighteen two months ago. He’s a little bit younger than Prince Leo, I think.”

“Yes, Leo was born in June.” Corrin turned his head back and gestured for his sister to join them at the table. “Kamui, come on. We can’t very well start eating if we’re not all at the table.”

“Sorry,” Kamui muttered quickly before speed walking over to the empty chair next to Azura, who was to the right of Corrin. Azura sat quietly wearing a pretty black kimono made of a solid material, the belt tying it together being colored blue. She looked at Ryoma’s stark black kimono with a white trim and felt compelled to compliment him. After all, she did not want to be as silent as Takumi. “You look nice. I like your uh…your kimono. That’s what it’s called, right?”

“Yes, yes it is,” Ryoma answered. Without his helmet, his long brown hair appeared to be much larger. “You look quite lovely, if I do say so myself.”

“You’re beautiful,” Hinoka added with stars in her eyes. She was wearing a crimson pantsuit complete with a lighter red tie that complimented her hair rather well. “And Corrin, you look so nice, too!”

“Thank you,” the twins answered in unison. Mikoto raised her open palm slightly and four men in suits entered the room from the back entrance, balancing several trays on their hands. They hastily yet gracefully walked over to the table and knelt down to place the trays onto it, somehow managing to make all of them fit perfectly on the small surface. With bows of respect, the men promptly left the family to their food.

The porcelain trays held a variety of Hoshidan food, from small bowls of rice to curry and a wide array of different fish dishes. Corrin’s eyes were wide with awe while his sister appeared to be more skeptical. Neither of them had ever had anything like this before, as Nohrian food was much more meat based and rarely included fish. The coastal cities of the country of course ate plenty, but the midlanders did not import much, as they had their own farms and ranches to provide food for them.

Kamui noticed everyone cleaning their hands with damp towels that had been laid out for them and mimicked them, Corrin following shortly after. Mikoto put her hands together and closed her eyes before speaking.

“Thank you for the food,” she said to no one in particular—Corrin figured that she was praying. It was a rather short prayer, as she immediately opened her eyes once more. “Let us begin!”

Immediately, Kamui was surprised at how they dined. She had heard that Hoshidans were rather concerned with etiquette—especially at the table—but this family did not seem to care. They stretched their arms over the food to reach bowls and plates, chatted as they ate, and Hinoka even talked with her mouth full. Back in Nohr, their dinners were mostly silent save for the small talk Xander would always make or a conversation between Garon and whomever he had invited for dinner.

“You should try the sushi!” Hinoka suggested.

“Sushi…?”

The redhead snickered before pointing to a plate with her chopsticks. The plate contained what looked to Kamui to be rice wrapped in some sort of plant with fish and vegetables inside. Some of them had no rice, others no vegetables. “Yeah, that’s called sushi. It’s really good.”

Kamui slowly nodded and took hold of her fork, tentatively beginning to bring it towards a piece of sushi. Mikoto covered her mouth and stifled a laugh while Takumi glared. Noticing their reactions, Kamui paused and looked around. “What? What is it?”

“You don’t eat sushi with a fork. You don’t eat most of the stuff here with a fork, in fact. Here. Sakura, you take Corrin.” Ryoma rose to his feet and Sakura followed, both making their way over to Corrin and Kamui’s side of the table and picking up the pairs of twin wooden sticks next to them.

“H-here, you put your thumb like this…and put this one between these two fingers. Now, hold it like this and that’s it,” Sakura instructed her older brother. Immediately, Corrin found that using chopsticks came naturally to him. His deft fingers were able to control the utensils without issue. “You’ve got it! Usually it takes a little longer to teach someone.”

Kamui frowned, as she was having a much harder time. “I don’t understand how to hold this thing…why do you not just use proper utensils?”

“Chopsticks are a proper utensil,” Takumi retorted, speaking for the first time since the twins entered the room. “They’re traditional. Our culture is different from yours. If you’re going to stay here, then you have to learn it.”

“Now now Takumi, there’s no need to be aggressive. She only asked a question.” Mikoto turned her attention to her daughter and continued. “But yes, your brother is right. Hoshidans have used chopsticks for as long as history has been recorded. We could very well switch to using primarily forks and what-not, but why would we?”

“How do you drink soup without spoons?” Corrin asked. Hinoka responded by loudly slurping from a bowl of noodles before raising the bowl to her mouth and drinking the soup directly from it, then setting it down with a wide smile.

“Like that!”

It seemed rather unorthodox, but Kamui had to remind herself that Hoshido was not the same as Nohr. If she had ever done that at the dinner table, she likely would have received a harsh scolding from her father. She turned her head to see Corrin effortlessly placing sushi onto his plate followed by some rice and grumbled before attempting to do the same. Noticing her struggles, her brother took pity on her and began to place a few onto her plate. Kamui pouted.

“Thank you…” she said reluctantly.

“So, Hinoka. How exactly was your pegasus injured today?” Ryoma asked. “You’re usually so careful with her.”

Hinoka furrowed her brow and sighed. “One of those things snuck up on us while my pegasus was resting. Went straight for her and ended up breaking one of her wings—the poor thing. A bunch of them surrounded us and I had to fend them off myself.”

“You must have done an excellent job to be able to fight so many all by yourself. It’s still a good thing that your siblings came to your rescue, however,” Mikoto said before stuffing her mouth full of noodles.

Takumi grumbled. “Yeah, it sure is a good thing, huh.” He stabbed a slice of pineapple with one of his chopsticks and idly moved it around in circles on his plate. Ryoma sighed in response.

“Takumi, you disappeared from the castle. I couldn’t very well have just spent the time looking for you; we had to leave.”

“You know that I spend a lot of time at Oboro’s shop. If I were you, that would have been the first place I looked.” The young boy shrugged before popping the pineapple slice into his mouth. “I don’t know, I just think that it’s a bit silly that I didn’t go out to see my own sisters while a pair of strangers did.”

“It wasn’t exactly our choice,” Kamui retorted, frustrated. “Believe me, I—”

“Now now, let’s not fight.” Mikoto interrupted. Kamui had raised her voice while Mikoto’s was soft, and yet the former was silenced immediately. “You two are siblings, and I would like for you to get along. Come now, Takumi. I know you don’t remember them from when you were a baby, but they’re still your older brother and sister regardless. It would make me happy if you’d treat them just the same as your other siblings.”

The moment she stopped speaking, Kamui could tell that Takumi respected his mother greatly. He was stopped talking, resigning himself to slowly filling his mouth with fried pork. Sakura could tell that he had soured the mood and did her best to sweeten it.

“S-So, you two. What’s your life like back in Nohr?”

Corrin broke a crab leg and pulled the meat from inside using his chopsticks, thinking about the question for a moment. “It’s fine, I suppose. Sister and I have been confined to a fortress for the past few years, so we don’t get to see our father or siblings often. We were originally only there for a few months out of the year, but then there was an incident and we were moved in. I cherish the times when I do get to see my brothers and sisters, though.”

“So you like them?” Hinoka asked, her face more serious than it had been. “Your Nohrian siblings, I mean. They treat you well?”

“Of course they do,” Kamui answered for Corrin. “We’re their brother and sister. We’ve known them for practically all of our lives. They’re good people.”

Ryoma pursed his lips and nodded. “Well, I’m glad that you love them. It would make me angry if you’d been kidnapped as well as treated poorly.”

Azura smiled and spoke for the first time. “We’ve lived quite similar lives, haven’t we? I was under the impression that you must have lived horrible lives up until now, so I neglected to compare those aspects when we spoke earlier.”

“Would Kamui be so stubborn if we had?” Corrin joked only to cease his laughter when Kamui glared. He cleared his throat and attempted to save face. “Ah, what I mean by that is that she probably wouldn’t be so attached to Nohr if we were treated horribly. That’s all.”

“There’s always the possibility that they could have brainwashed you,” Hinoka suggested with a shrug. “Nohr does have the strongest mages around, after all. Even if that weren’t the case, it’s not crazy to think that they would have instilled some sort of national pride in you even if living there was horrible.”

“Let’s not dwell on the negatives, now,” Mikoto said with a smile. “Tell us about your other siblings, you two. I wish to know about the people you’ve grown up alongside.”

Corrin beamed at this suggestion. “Certainly! The youngest is Elise, and she is just a ball of sunshine. She gets upset easily, but it never lasts long. I think that the gods put a little too much love and affection in her when they made her, though I don’t mind.” He chuckled before continuing. “She plays the violin, too, and it is just the most beautiful music you’d ever heard. I hope you’ll get to listen to her play soon.”

Kamui hastily swallowed her food and continued. “Leo’s next. He’s uh…he’s a smart boy. Not through natural talent, but the fact that he’s studied so hard since he was a kid. He can be standoffish, but he has a good heart.”

Corrin was going to comment on how he reminded him of her, but decided that it was best to hold his tongue.

“Then there’s Camilla. She’s basically the mother we never had—” Kamui winced and looked to Mikoto, who only gave a nod with perfectly relaxed expression. “My apologies. She dotes on all of us, but is especially motherly towards Corrin and I. I cannot for the life of me determine why, but it’s not really an issue. Even if she does want to tuck us into bed sometimes despite the fact that we’re grown adults.”

“Xander’s our older brother,” Corrin continued. “He was our primary trainer for a while, up until…up until Gunter…” he cleared his throat and shook his head. “Never mind that. He’s a very chivalrous man, you know? The very model of a modern Nohrian knight. He’s hardy, but gentle. I think he has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. I mean, he’s in line to be king, and on top of that, he has all of his little brothers and sisters to worry over. He’s a wonderful man. I think you’d get along with him, Ryoma.”

Ryoma closed his eyes. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. As far as anyone knows, neither he nor Princess Camilla put forth any effort into returning you to your rightful family. I don’t think that I can forgive them for that.”

“Isn’t that a bit hypocritical of you, Ryoma?” Azura asked. In a short amount of time she had finished up two plates already—an impressive feat to pull off without anyone noticing. “You haven’t even entertained the idea of returning me to Nohr. Did it ever cross your mind that perhaps they grew attached to Corrin and Kamui and would not want to give them up?”

“Of course it has, but that doesn’t matter. They’re not Nohr’s to keep. And you’re a different situation—you were taken as retaliation.”

“So if Nohr were to agree to allow them to stay here, would you return me to them?” Azura inquired with a tilt of her head.

Ryoma furrowed his brow in confusion. “What? No, of course not. You’re my sister, I—” He sighed in frustration and put his hands on his temples. “Azura, I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. You’re always asking questions like this. Your circumstances are just different, understand? When it comes down to it, they simply aren’t Nohr’s to take. They belong to Hoshido.”

“We don’t _belong_ to anyone,” Kamui argued. “We can make our own decisions.”

“I appreciate your questions, Azura, but I’d rather not have any more arguing. Thank you,” Corrin said. Azura gave a respectful nod in response and took a sip from her cup of tea.

The odd family continued their meal in a much more awkward atmosphere, the silence being broken by someone occasionally making a comment or clearing their throat. Finally, when the majority of the food that was laid out had been consumed, Mikoto rose to her feet and stepped over to Corrin and Kamui, taking each of their hands and pulling them to their feet.

“Your father would have been proud to see you two like this—so grown up. When I got pregnant with Sakura, he was suddenly much more of a family man. Perhaps it was because he thought that he had to be if he were to raise six children. I wasn’t there to see it, but I heard that he fought until his last breath to prevent any Nohrian from getting to you. You two were the only ones in the castle at the time…sometimes I think about what my life would be like now had it been Takumi. Or Hinoka. Or Ryoma.” She ran her soft, gentle hand down Kamui’s face and sent a shudder down the girl’s spine. This woman was practically a stranger to her, and yet she truly did feel like her mother. “But the thought of losing any one of my children pains me. I want you to know that you have a place here. I’m very aware of how strange it must feel being in a new place and suddenly having people you’ve never met be your family, but I promise you that we’ll all do our best to help you feel welcome, just like we did with Azura.”

The blue haired woman smiled and nodded at the twins. “I’m sure that if you decide to stay, you’ll be showered in nothing but love. We’re your family, after all.”

“Perhaps you both could even help put an end to this pointless war,” Ryoma suggested. “You would make quite the diplomats considering your circumstances. He might not have been very attached to Azura, but King Garon has raised you. Surely he’ll be more willing to listen.”

With a blissful smile, Mikoto placed a gentle kiss on each of the twins’ foreheads before pulling them into a hug. “No matter what happens, know that you’ll always have a place here with us. I love you both so much… “ Corrin couldn’t see her face, but he got the feeling that Mikoto was crying. He looked to the side and could see that even his sister was trying to hold back tears. Their siblings were looking directly at them with mostly smiles, so Kamui told herself that she could not let them see her get emotional. Corrin was surprised; Kamui was never this sentimental.

Corrin hugged his mother tighter and thought of Ganglari—the last memento from his father before they left Nohr, perhaps for good. He smiled at the thought of the sword and closed his eyes with a blissful feeling.

If all went well, he might get to return it one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, longest chapter yet. The twins have finally entered Hoshido and met up with their _other_ family. I have to wonder how things are going to progress from here? As always, kudos and comments are much appreciated. Have a good one!


	4. Mother

“Come along, you two!” The queen of Hoshido hastily moved her children along through the castle doors and onto the carriage that was to carry them to the town square. The twins had been urged to wear formal attire, but insisted that they wear their armor for safety as well as for the sake of comfortability.

Neither of them had ever been in a carriage like the one that took them into town. The interior walls were padded with red cushions, making leaning against them quite comfortable. There was even an oil lamp on the top for when the carriage had to travel by night. The twins exchanged awkward and nervous looks while the carriage carried on along the road, occasionally glancing at Mikoto, who happily hummed the entire way and only stopped to check in and see if her children were doing alright.

Kamui anxiously bounced her knee the entire ride, digging her nails into the luxurious seat cushions. This was it. After today, there was no more hiding. She would no longer be able to live in obscurity. If she were to stay in Hoshido, she would always be seen as its princess. Not the princess of Nohr, but _Hoshido_. Not the princess of the place she called home, but the princess of a country she was raised to hate. __

She wanted to vomit.

On the other hand, Corrin sat with an eager smile during the entire ride. Not only was he happy to be sitting next to his mother, but he was incredibly excited to introduce himself to the people of his true country. He was of course nervous that they might reject him due to the fact that he was raised Nohrian, but he was excited nonetheless.

When the carriage finally arrived in town, the trio stepped out and were immediately greeted with cheers of the Hoshidan citizens. They were jubilant and gleeful in the presence of their benevolent queen, who called for a path to be made to the front of the fountain in the center of the town square. One was quickly made for her and she began to walk down it, beckoning for her children to join her.

Kamui stood on her left while Corrin stood on her right, both smiling. They spotted their siblings among the crowd and waving at them. A select few people in the crowd recognized the two from the previous day, but the majority of them simply looked on in confusion and continued to clap. Once the cheers died down, Mikoto cleared her throat and began her speech in front of the fountain.

“Citizens of Hoshido! Eighteen years ago, our country suffered a great loss. We were deceived into believing that the kingdom of Nohr came to us for a peaceful meeting. Instead, they attacked us. Thrown off guard, our army was not able to stop them, and we were defeated.” She wore a downtrodden expression, but quickly wiped it off in order to maintain her regal appearance to her subjects. “However, that was not the great loss we suffered. Not only did Hoshido lose its great king and my husband, Sumeragi, but in the midst of battle, the prince and princess Corrin and Kamui were both abducted! Taken from us! My children! The Nohrians stole them away and took them back to their homeland, and we have discovered that that is where they were raised as the king’s own children. Their entire lives, they had not known their true heritage and have been isolated in a fortress, cut off from the rest of their world.”

Roars of outrage erupted throughout the crowd, but were quickly silenced when Mikoto raised her palm. “But no more. Thanks to the valiant effort made by two of our finest soldiers, Rinkah and Kaze, we have recovered them! Citizens, I give you Prince Corrin and Princess Kamui of Hoshido!”

As the crowd cheered—Hinoka being among the loudest of them all—the two lost nobles smiled and waved back. Corrin decided to speak first, confidently stepping forward and projecting from his chest. “Hello, people of Hoshido! I may not have been here long, and I’ve known I was your prince for an even shorter amount of time. However, despite me growing up in enemy territory and being raised Nohrian, I am proud to be of Hoshidan blood! I am proud to be your prince!”

Kamui frowned as the crowd cheered for her brother. How could he say that? He had just practically denounced his status as a Nohrian in front of dozens of people. The princess regained her royal posture in order to not raise suspicion. “Ah…hello! My name is Kamui. Princess Kamui of Nohr—” she bit her tongue. “Princess Kamui of Hoshido! Now, I will admit. I was slightly wary at the idea of being a Hoshidan princess.” She bit her bottom lip, her eyes aimed at her feet. Her hands were shaking. “For as long as I could remember, it’s been drilled into my head that I was to embrace my Nohrian pride. I was raised to hate Hoshido…I believe Father even had plans for me to become a general and lead the invasion of this country.” She began to nervously tap her fingers along her waistguard. “But now that I see what Hoshido is like…I don’t want to hurt it.” She looked around the area. There were small shops all along the roads, selling things such as food or little trinkets. Places like this did not exist in Nohr, for all commerce was heavily overseen by its economic department. As such, practically all profit went to large corporations that were at the top of their industry. Small business was essentially fiction. She gazed back at the crowd with a soft expression, her breathing slowing.

All eyes were on her.

“I…I want to protect it!” She stated with a powerful tone. “I do not want to see any harm come to this country! In my short time being here, I’ve realized that Hoshido is home to such a vibrant culture,” she noticed Azura smiling at her from the crowd and her cheeks flushed pink. “And such wonderful people.” Kamui sighed happily. “I don’t want to renounce my Nohrian side. My siblings in Nohr are too dear for me to do that. However, I fully embrace my Hoshidan blood. I fully embrace Hoshido!”

Loud cheers erupted from the crowd and Kamui looked to her brother, who wore a wide grin. She smiled back, but her joyous look twisted into one of confusion as she noticed the blade at Corrin’s side began to shake. She gestured to his waist and he looked down at the sword, staring at it with a furrowed brow.

A black and red mist began to emanate from the Ganglari and the crowd noticed almost immediately, murmurs being drowned out by the cheers of the ignorant. The blade then flew out of its sheath at an astonishing speed and hovered in the air before turning its hilt to the crowd, seemingly being sucked in as it vanished among the citizens.

Slowly, a figure wearing a dark hood that concealed their face stepped out from the crowd and stood at the front lines, staring at the ground. The Hoshidans grew scared and worried chatter beginning to grow louder and louder.

Kamui drew her sword and stepped forward angrily. “What is the meaning of this? Who are you?” She took another step when she received no response, hastily approaching the figure while her mother acted as her shadow in concern. She was absolutely livid. Here she was finally being accepted by people with open arms and this stranger had the nerve to mar that experience? “Answer me at once! How did you—”

It happened in an instant.

The hooded figure stabbed Ganglari into the ground, piercing right through the stone pavement. A sphere of purple aura manifested from the center of the blade before quickly expanding. Not a soul had time to react before the sphere overtook the area completely, ripping through the ground and surrounding structures. Rubble flew through the air and dozens of onlookers were blown away. A deafening hum reverberated throughout the area, only ending when the aura had dissipated.

Within moments, the once beautiful plaza was transformed into a wasteland.

Civilians groaned in pain scattered across the ground. One could hear the cries of children calling for their mothers and fathers. The fountain was broken all around, causing water to leak out and soak the ground around it. Fires broke out around the area and dark smoke rose into the sky, covering the area with soot and ash.

“Gyah…” Corrin placed his palms on the damp concrete and pushed himself up, struggling to stand. A chunk of the concrete had slammed into his chest and knocked him down. “What…what happened?” His eyes stung from the smoke, but he forced himself to keep them open as he scanned the area for people. He spotted Takumi lying on the ground a ways away, his chest slowly rising and falling. Corrin limped over to his brother and pulled him to his feet. “Takumi! Are you alright?”

Takumi glared at him with rage in his eyes, his teeth bared. He aggressively pulled his hand away from Corrin and stepped back. “What. Happened?” he asked through gritted teeth.  
Corrin began to panic, shaking his head and running his fingers through his hair. “I-I don’t know! My sword left its sheath and then—”

“You did this!” Takumi barked. “I knew it from the beginning! So what? Did you come here only to betray us? Was this some plot to aggravate Hoshido? Huh? Did your king send you to cause even more chaos?”

“No! I swear! I didn’t even know I was Hoshidan until two days ago! I never wanted this to happen! Brother—”

“No!” Takumi shoved Corrin and balled his fists. “You don’t GET to call me that. You are not my brother.” He reached for the limb of his bow and took a deep breath. Suddenly, an ethereal blue bowstring appeared with a matching arrow. “Leave. Now.”

Corrin began to back away fearfully, his lip quivering. “Takumi, come now. You know that’s not necessary.”

“Shut up! I knew you were no good. I knew that from the moment you and your stupid sister—”

Takumi’s words were cut short by the sound of a girl’s scream. Both boys turned to the direction of the screaming and were met with the sight of Kamui and Mikoto, both on the ground.

Takumi gasped upon seeing the state of the queen's body. “MOTHER!” The string and arrow of the bow both disappeared and Takumi sprinted away over to Kamui’s side in panic. Corrin followed close behind, panting as he ran.

Kamui knelt down on the damp stone near the fountain with the queen in her arms. The back of Mikoto’s white dress had smoldering holes in it, each one surrounded by rings of red. The shrapnel from the explosion. The more pressing matter was the large wound in her back. Next to the two lay the naked silver blade of Ganglari, covered in fresh blood.

The princess’ breathing was unsteady. It had all happened so fast. Mikoto had thrown herself in front of her daughter to shield her from the shrapnel that had flown off of Ganglari when the explosion happened. Kamui could tell how painful it was, but the queen had put on a brave smile for her daughter. As Mikoto asked her if she unharmed, the blade had entered through her back and skewered her abdomen. The hooded figure who had stabbed her disappeared moments later, leaving not a trace.

A thin red stream of blood was running down Mikoto’s face from her mouth. She coughed and struggled to speak, her eyes growing darker and darker as the moments passed. “My…my child,” she forced out. “Tell me you’re alright.”

“I…I’m fine.” Kamui spoke shakily. “We uh…we need t-to you get you to a healer.” She blinked several times to force herself back to reality. She could barely focus with a dying human being in front of her. “Sakura—we need Sakura. Sakura!?” she called. “Please! Sakura! Elise? Someone!”

Mikoto shook her head and cupped Kamui’s cheek with her palm. “No no, save your energy. This is it for me, my love.”

“No! You can’t die! You’re a queen! You’re supposed to run this country! You…” Salty tears filled Kamui’s eyes and spilled onto Mikoto’s bloodstained dress. “You’re my Mother…” 

A sad, faint smile was born on Mikoto’s face as she stared at her daughter. The daughter she had almost never known, yet had given so much love to. She caressed Kamui’s face adoringly, running her fingertips gently across her face. “If you’re unhurt, then I have done well…” Her breathing slowed until it was inaudible and her eyelids began to droop, the strength in her arm leaving her. “I…I love you. Kamui, tell your brothers and sisters. I love them.” The queen closed her eyes, her head as well as her arm going limp. “I…love…”

She was gone.

Kamui stared at her lifeless body. Someone had just died in her arms. A queen had just died in her arms. Her mother had just died in her arms.

She heard the drowned out cries of her siblings. She heard their hastily approaching footsteps and began to grow dizzy—her mother was dead in her arms. 

She stared at Mikoto's lifeless body and began to cry—her mother was dead in her arms. 

The last words of the queen echoed in her head—her mother was dead in her arms. 

The felt a fire raging within her and began to tremble—her mother was dead in her arms.

The once stoic and resilient princess had broken.

“MOTHER!!!” With a loud scream, Kamui herself seemed to explode. An aura consisting of multiple shades of purple burst from the ground and shot into the sky, concealing her from her surrounding family members as the earth beneath her started to rumble. Suddenly, her body had begun to change.

Her eyes took on a pure white color and she stretched her arms, her armor seemingly bonding to her limbs and covering them in dark scales as they stretched to a much longer length. Two large blue and white wings sprouted from her back before spreading themselves fully, spanning several times the length of Ryoma’s Raijinto. Her neck elongated and was covered with plated, armored scales while long horns sprouted from her head, which had already transformed by that point. 

In mere moments, she had morphed into a dragon. 

Ryoma stared at the monster that was once sister, his eyes wide with awe. “It’s…an ancient dragon. Gods, I never thought I’d see the day.” He turned to Corrin, who stood petrified as he watched his sister. “Corrin! What’s going on?”

“Sh-she…we’re…” The prince stumbled back. The current situation at hand was hard to process. His mother had just died by his own sword and now his sister had transformed into a dragon right in front of him. Kamui’s anger filled roars left him completely petrified. “We’re d-dragons. I don’t know the full story, but—”

“Dragons!?” Takumi screamed in anger. “First you cause all of this, and now we’re meant to believe that you’re dragons?”

“Takumi! The proof is right there!” Azura gestured to the large creature roaring before them, its claws digging into the ground. “I need you to do something for me. Scavenge the shops in the area for a dragonstone. It’s a light green orb, about the size of a playing ball. It’s warm to the touch; you’ll know it when you see it.”

“What? No! I’m not leaving! Mother—”

“We don’t have time to argue! If you want to stop this, you’ll go. Now!”

Balling his fists, Takumi angrily sprinted off towards the shopping district, leaving his siblings behind. Azura ran over to a weapons shop and hastily took hold of a spear, gazing at the beast before her with intently focused eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of Sakura screaming rang throughout the area. From the rubble of a ruined building, the large green hand of a Faceless was wrapped around Sakura’s slender arm. Hinoka quickly slashed down with her naginata and severed the limb, which quickly faded to dust. “Faceless? Now?!” Hinoka grunted and slammed her weapon on the ground. “Damn it all; why?!”

Dozens of the Faceless began to shamble forth from the shadows. They had appeared from seemingly nowhere, and in massive numbers as well. Within a minute, their hulking forms had overrun the area. Several of them had their sights set on the few remaining civilians while the rest locked in on the princes and princesses of the nation.

For Corrin, this was far too much to deal with. His sister had already begun to destroy what was left of the plaza and now there were Faceless? He knew he had to dispose of them before he or anyone could deal with Kamui, but he had no weapon to fight with. 

He looked over to the bloody naked blade of Ganglari lying next to Mikoto’s corpse. Kamui had wandered a few metres away, but it was still dangerous to approach. Shaking his head to remind himself of the situation, he sprinted towards the sword. Immediately, Kamui turned her head and brought her sharp claws down, only barely missing her brother’s legs as he slid across the pavement, grabbed the hilt of the blade as he stood, and transitioned into a run. He immediately drove the sword through the mask of a Faceless and pushed it sideways, bisecting its head. 

He took a quick glance back and saw this his siblings were fighting as well. He had had no idea that Azura had any combat potential and would never have guessed it either. From her mesmerizing voice and the attire she wore, he figured she was a singer and not a soldier. Yet, it was clear that she was a skilled fighter from the way she gracefully twirled her weapon and danced around the battlefield like a butterfly before driving the blade into her enemy’s chest. Perhaps she was a dancer as well?

The young man dashed back to assist Ryoma with a particularly large beast that swung its arms around recklessly. He drove the blade into the small of the creature’s back, then forcing it upwards to cut through the spine. It was gone with a burst of black dust.  
It was rather detrimental that they had lost Takumi before the fight, but Azura knew that he would be faster than Sakura and they could not afford to waste Hinoka’s skills. In addition to that, Azura knew that having Sakura near everyone else would be best for her own safety. Kamui could have possibly chased after her as she ran away and the rest of them wouldn’t be able to protect her. 

Corrin decapitated a Faceless that was encroaching behind Hinoka, using the momentum from his spin to stab at one who had lost its legs and was crawling on the ground. Ryoma suddenly raised his sword and called out, conjuring a large blue strike of lightning that descended from the sky, disintegrating a large amount of Faceless that had gathered in the area. At this point, only a few remained. 

Hinoka kicked off of the ground and drove her naginata into the neck of an unusually large Faceless, who simply roared in response. Ryoma followed up by stabbing it in the stomach, Corrin then slashing at the back of the knee. The beast knelt down only to be killed by an oncoming ethereal arrow to the skull.

“Takumi!”

“Azura!” Takumi ran back into the fray and tossed a small orb to Azura, who snatched it out of the air. With Takumi’s presence, the final Faceless were disposed of with haste.

Panting, Ryoma looked to his rampaging sister. Azura set down her spear and took hold of the blue pendant around her neck, beginning to slowly walk towards the dragon before her as she took a deep breath. 

“You are the ocean’s gray waves…”

Corrin looked at her in bewilderment. She was singing at a time like this?

Kamui instantly turned her attention to the approaching songstress, roaring loudly. She had been dispatching any Faceless that came near her the entire time, but now that they were gone, she was much more interested in the humans. She began to move forward towards Azura like a predator to its prey.

“Azura, no!” Ryoma began to run at the two, but Corrin grabbed him by the arm and shook his head.

“Leave them be for now. We don’t know what she’s doing,” he advised. Ryoma looked conflicted, but ultimately stood down.

Azura looked back at Corrin and nodded, then returning her attention to the dragon before her. “Destined to seek...life beyond the shore, just out of reach.”

Kamui cowered back in what seemed to be fear, roaring as Azura continued to sing. “Yet the waters ever change—” The woman suddenly screamed in pain as Kamui raked her sharp claws across her chest and knocked her back several feet, sending her sliding across the ground.

“No!” Sakura cried out, covering her eyes. Ryoma took another step forward with his blade drawn, but Corrin held him back once more. 

Azura forced herself to sit up and began to inch backwards with uneasy eyes. She forced herself to continue to sing, refusing to give in. “Yet the waters ever change…” 

Kamui grabbed her by the neck and forced her down, her head lingering right above hers. Tears began to fill Azura’s eyes. “Flowing like time…the path is…yours to climb…”

The dragon roared right before the songstress’ face, yet began to tremble. Azura gripped Kamui’s leg with both hands. “Kamui…kill me if you want, but please.” She grit her teeth as pained tears fell down the side of her face. “Do it as yourself.”

Kamui froze, staring at the girl despite not seeming to have any eyes in this form. Her grip on Azura’s neck was released and she appeared to begin shrinking down, her draconic body slowly reverting to her normal human one with her armor fully intact.

When she had fully transformed, Kamui was kneeling on the ground with her hands tightly gripping at her hair, her scarlet red eyes radiating what looked like crimson steam. “I…M-Mother,” she bumbled.

Corrin let go of Ryoma and quickly ran up to his sister, pulling her into a loving embrace. “Kamui, It’s okay. I’m here. We all are.”

Kamui hugged her brother back and sniffled, her tears dripping down onto the ground. “I’m sorry. I d-didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said as she looked to Azura, who simply stood and massaged her bruised neck. 

“It’s fine, I assure you. You were not in control.” Azura knelt down and handed Kamui the dragonstone, closing her hand with her own. “This is a dragonstone. They’re usually sold as jewelry, but for someone like you, it will help control your draconic state, okay? Keep it with you always.”

Ryoma picked up his Mother’s lifeless body and sorrowfully shook his head, his eyes closed. “...This. This is a tragedy.” He looked on all of his younger siblings. “We must make haste back to Shirasagi. There is where we will make plans as to what comes next.”

Hinoka gestured to the broken fountain where two distinct golden glows emanated from the water. They stood out among the smoke and dust that consumed the area around them, drawing everyone’s attention towards them. “What’s going on…?” she asked.

Kamui wiped her eyes and stepped forward two the fountain. In it lay two gilded blades, each with four oval shaped indentations near the base of the hilt. “They’re swords,” she said bluntly.

Everyone gathered around the fountain, Ryoma staring at the weapons in awe before locking eyes with Takumi and exchanging nods. “...The Yato Blades.”

“What?” Corrin asked with his eyes thinned. “Are they some sort of special weapons?”

“Yes,” Ryoma responded in a breath. He eyed his katana in its sheath. “The same as my Raijinto or Takumi’s Fujin Yumi. Legendary weapons. They are said to be the keys to peace in the world. Each may be wielded by a single warrior—just like ours—chosen by the blades themselves.”

The two swords floated into the air before hovering before Corrin and Kamui. A look of horror overtook the girl’s face when they simultaneously realized exactly what this meant. Regardless, she tentatively extended her trembling arm and awaited the inevitable. 

Corrin raised the naked blade of Ganglari high in the air—the silver glinting in the sun’s light— and cried out, swinging it down on what remained of the fountain’s stone. Shards of metal flew out in every direction upon impact, leaving only the hilt to be tossed to the side. The reached out with an extended hand and the hilt of the left blade began to hover towards him.

At once, both twins took hold of their weapons. 

“Why?” Kamui choked out. “Why me? What did I do to deserve something like this? Legendary weapons…they are made for those worthy. Those pure of heart. Heroes.” She shook her head in denial and bit down on her tongue. “I am no hero.”

“Lord Ryoma!” 

Kaze hastily ran up to them and began panting. “It appears that word has spread fast. Everybody knows about what happened here somehow! Now that people know the queen is gone, Nohrian forces have gathered at the border. Milord, it’s massive. We’ll need all the forces that we have.”

Ryoma grit his teeth in anger, looking down at the resting face of his deceased mother. She looked…peaceful. As if she were sleeping. If it were not for the blood staining Ryoma’s armor, he would have forgotten that she was even dead. “...Tell Yukimura to alert the army.”

“Yukimura?” Corrin inquired.

“He’s the tactician of Hoshido. You may have seen him at the castle.” Ryoma looked down at his mother once again and shook his head. “Kaze, return Mother to her bedroom for now. We’ll be back in due time.”

The prince passed on the body to Kaze, who nodded in affirmation. He knelt down and picked the queen up with a grim expression. “Yes. Good luck, milord.” He then took off, leaving them alone.

Kamui began to choke up again as she stared at Mikoto’s body being carried off. She was gone just as soon as they had truly met. 

Ryoma cut her crying short. “There’ll be time for mourning later,” he said through grit teeth as he drew the Raijinto and began to hastily move forward. “We have tried to be peaceful. I know Mother would not have wanted this, but this is no time for pacifism. All that awaits those Nohrians is death now.”

His siblings followed behind him, Kamui and Corrin walking slowly in the back. Corrin looked to her with sad eyes. “Do…do you think that…?”

Kamui nodded and bit her lip. “Without a doubt…I suppose it’s now or never, Brother.”

Corrin looked at his feet as he walked. “I suppose it is, Sister.”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The eastern border between Nohr and Hoshido was already rife with combat by the time the small party arrived. Nohr had brought movable cannons with them, something Hoshido did not have at their disposal. Pegasi and Kinshi roamed the skies and left javelins that pinned soldiers to the ground in their path. Some of the Nohrian mages were even summoning small hordes of Faceless, a few of which turned on their creators and tore them to shreds in acts of pure brutality. 

Corrin looked to the sky and saw a purple shape move through the air. He cringed instantly—he could identify the rider from any distance. She most definitely noticed him, but instead of flying down and forcing him into a hug as he expected her to do, she simply turned flew to the backlines. 

“Is everyone prepared?” Ryoma asked as he turned around. Takumi was already firing arrows into the battlefield, hitting his mark from dozens of meters away. A majestic white pegasus suddenly descended from the sky down next to them and gave a hearty whinny. Hinoka smiled confidently at it and then mounted, holding its reigns in her hands. It was obviously hers, though Kamui briefly wondered how it knew where to find them in the first place.

Azura looked at the lance she picked up from the plaza and sighed. “I suppose this will have to do.”

“Right then. Now, when I give the signal, we’ll move in. We move together, all right? Takumi will cover the back with arrows and Hinoka will stay above us at all times. Sakura stays in the center of the circle while Corrin and Kamui take one side each. Got it?” Everyone nodded. Kamui began to tremble. Despite Ryoma’s confident way of speaking, she was still nervous.“Good. Now, let’s—”

Suddenly, the entire front line of the Hoshidan army was wiped out from one giant push. From afar it looked like a wave of purple and black overtaking red and white sand. The Nohrian army had begun to push in. In the center of the madness, a path was being formed by countless Hoshidan bodies falling to the sides.

In an instant, Hinoka’s head was nearly taken off by a black axe. The attacker had an expression of rage on her face, her purple hair disheveled from the wind. She had dive bombed them, but Hinoka’s pegasus moved out of the way just in time. 

“Camilla!” Kamui cried out.

“Kamui! Corrin!” The woman ran over to her two siblings and abandoned her ax on the ground before pulling them into a loving hug with a wide smile on her face. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much! Don’t you ever leave me again, you hear me? Gods, you’ve been gone so long!” 

Kamui laughed slightly yet with concern. She was ecstatic to see a familiar face in Camilla, but there was also the matter of her Hoshidan family standing around them. “Sister, it’s only been two or three days! Look, we’re fine!”

Much to Corrin’s dissatisfaction, Takumi poised his arrow at Camilla. She scowled at him and released them both. “And who might this be?” she asked, annoyed. 

“Th-this is Takumi!” Corrin said in a panic. “He’s ah…he’s our brother.”

Camilla’s expression turned grim. She stared at her siblings with sad eyes. “You…you found out…” Corrin nodded. “Ah, I see. We did not want to tell you—we thought that it might confuse you. Just know that Xander and I have considered you family since the day we laid eyes on you, regardless of blood. Yet, Father didn’t hesitate to tell Leo and Elise the truth when they first asked about you…” 

Kamui was going to respond, but was interrupted by Takumi. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t let this arrow fly right now.”

“Takumi!” 

“Look at her ax! That’s Hoshidan blood! And she’s not just some common soldier, she’s a damn Nohrian Princess! Tell me, why are your troops here? Surely they couldn’t have heard of our queen’s passing so soon after it happened!” Takumi shouted with a glare, pulling the bowstring back as far as he could. 

“I…I don’t—”

Sakura came to a saddening revelation and gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “The meeting…with the Nohrian council…”

The fires of Takumi’s rage were only stoked by this realization. “Again?! We invite you to a meeting of PEACE and you come into our country with bloodshed? You Nohrian scum are absolutely despicable!” 

“Takumi, stop!” Corrin said in an assertive tone. “That’s my sister! She’s only following Father’s orders! Now lower your weapon!”

“What? No! I—”

“Corrin! Kamui!” 

Xander, Elise, and Leo all entered the scene at once. They had cut through the Hoshidan army to get here, evident by the blood on their clothes. Despite their stained attire, they all had looks of joy on their faces. “You’re safe! Oh, thank the gods,” Leo said with a sigh of relief.

“Yay!” Elise laughed jubilantly. “It’s so good to see you again! We’ve been looking for you all over Nohr! Well, not ‘we’ specifically, but Father said he sent forces all around to search for you! Oh, this is such a coincidence! What’ve you been doing here?”

Corrin shook his head. “It’s a long story, Elise.” He turned to his older brother on the Nohrian side, for he knew that he was the one leading the army. “Xander, why are you invading Hoshido?” 

“Father instructed us to do so. He said that this would be the ideal time to conquer Hoshido, when they’re weakened.” He extended his hand to his brother with a wide smile. “Come! If we do this quickly, we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed, brother.”

Hinoka looked at him with vengeful eyes. “Brother?! How _dare_ you? You abduct him and lie to him all his life you have the audacity to call him brother? He’s a part of our family, not yours!”

“Hey!” The short blonde piped up and balled her fists. “You guys never even knew them! Who are you to call them family?!”

“They’ve been our family since the day they were born!” Hinoka shouted. “We never got to do all the things a family is supposed to, and it’s all your fault!”

Xander took Corrin’s hand and pulled him next to him, placing his own comforting hand on his head. “Come home, little prince.” Camilla guided Kamui to his side and he did the same. “And you, little princess. It doesn’t matter who your blood family is. We’ve been by your side since you were toddlers.”

Ryoma grit his teeth and gripped his sword tightly. “We can’t say the same, unfortunately, but that’s not our fault, it’s theirs’! But I promise that once you return home, we’ll be the best family you could ever ask for.”

Corrin turned around and gazed upon the mass bloodshed between both nations. He then looked back to his family. Both of them. “I…” He stared at his sister. She had a grim look on her face and was staring at her feet, which were firmly planted on the ground. Kamui looked…tired. 

It did not seem like she was going to move.

In a decision that he would reflect upon for the rest of his life, the young prince took a single step forward and he could practically hear his family’s heart breaking. He took another step and could hear his own shatter and mend itself repeatedly. He took another and another until he stood beside Azura. He dreaded turning around, but knew that he had to.

When he did, the look of betrayal in everyone’s eyes nearly broke him. Elise was on the verge of bursting into tears while Camilla’s shoulders slacked. Leo shook his head. Xander looked down on him in horror. “Corrin…” he breathed.

“Xander, I have to ask you to command the army to retreat,” Corrin forced out. “This invasion…it’s senseless. This entire war is senseless. I’m sorry, but I can’t condone this any longer, I—Gods…”

The young man interrupted himself once Kamui looked up. Thick, heavy tears ran down her face and stained her rosy pink cheeks. This wasn’t like her at all. Kamui…Kamui never cried. She never showed weakness. She was the rock. He was the emotional twin and she was the strong one—that was how it had always been. 

“Kamui, I…I’m sorry. I never wanted to—”

With her new blade, Kamui swung swiftly at her brother’s neck with not a moment’s hesitation. He blocked the strike with the flat end of his own sword reflexively, his eyes wide with shock. Everyone watching shouted in surprise, Ryoma drawing his own sword.

“Kamui?! What the hell are you doing?” Corrin shouted.

She shook her head quickly, her tears falling to the dirt. “W-we’re on opposing sides now, right?” she asked, her shaky voice cracking. “We’re at war. We h-have to fight!” She drew her blade away and swung at his legs. Corrin moved to the side to avoid the strike but did not retaliate, even with his sister’s sloppy form and unrefined posture. 

“Kamui, I’m not going to fight you! You’re my sister; I love you!” 

“No!” she shouted, running at him and jabbing her blade forward. She missed and did not even manage to graze his side. “No, you don’t g-get to say that! You made your choice! And I made mine! You’re staying in Hoshido and I’m going back to Nohr!”

“I can’t do that if you kill me!” 

Kamui slashed at her brother over and over, everyone simply watching the heart-wrenching display. As the duel continued, tears began to fill Corrin’s eyes and blur his vision. “Kamui, stand down! P-please!” 

“Tell me why!” she screamed, pointing her sword at him. “Why?! Why are you abandoning us? Why are you running away from your family?” 

“Because Father is a liar and a coward!” Corrin responded angrily, balling his empty fist. “He executed a massive explosion in a crowd full of innocent lives! And for what? Just to anger Hoshido even further?” 

Kamui shook her head in denial and sniffled, her nose and ears red at the tips. “No…Father loves you. He loves me. He loves all of us. Why can’t you see that?”

“And so he lies to us?” Corrin scoffed. “Do you know how easily we could have died in that attack? Hell, if it weren’t for Mother, you’d be riddled with holes right now! You’d be dead and it would be King Garon’s fault!”

“This is all wh-what ifs,” Kamui told herself. “Think of everything he’s done for us. So what if we’re not his real children? He’s been our father for as long as we can remember!”

Her brother shook his head and began to grind his teeth. “No…he is no father of mine.”

The butt of Kamui’s blade slammed into Corrin’s nose, causing his siblings to gasp. Takumi poised his arrow on Kamui and everyone else readied their weapons in preparation for battle. Corrin stumbled back from the impact, falling down when Kamui kicked him in his chest. She grabbed his collar and pulled him to his feet, staring into his eyes with her own. “How could you say that…? Brother…” She shook her head and her tears began to flow once more. She aggressively turned him to face his Hoshidan family. “Do you see what you did? This is because of _you_.”

“No…we have equal blame to share, sister.” Corrin wiped the blood from his nose. 

“So what? Are you just going to forget about us? Forget about Elise? Xander? Leo? Camilla? Are you going to forget about _me_? No...no, I’m not going to let you forget.” She shoved him forward and wiped her tears away. “You’ll think of us every day. You’re going to have to live knowing what you did.” She backed up to rejoin the Nohrians and tightly gripped her Yato. 

Corrin struggled to stand. Takumi briefly let go of his bow to help him up and nodded to him. “Kamui…” He looked up at his older brother with pleading eyes. “Xander, _please._ Call off your troops. We don’t have to fight. We can end this right here, right now.”

Xander opened his mouth to speak, but Kamui raised her hand to stop him. “No. We could’ve had that, but it’s too late now. You’ve made your choice.” She tightly gripped the dragonstone, a green light making its way through the gaps between her fingers. Azura grimaced. “...Xander. Elise. Leo. Camilla. My dear brothers and sisters…fight.”

Weapons began to clash once Kamui said the word. Takumi fired an arrow into Camilla’s wyvern’s left wing to immediately cripple it. Ryoma used his sword’s length to keep up with Xander’s mount. Hinoka avoided Leo’s magical attacks and went in from above with Azura’s assistance. 

“Everyone, we have to defeat them! They’ll retreat if they’re weakened!” Corrin called out.

Corrin tried to assist Ryoma in fighting Xander, but Kamui blocked his path. “...You’re not going to defeat me alone, Corrin.”

He gave a nod and extended his blade. “I don’t have to beat you, Kamui. I just have to keep you from everyone else.”

Kamui struck first, crouching and turning on her toes for a spinning attack. Corrin kicked forward and landed a hit on her face before her sword could connect. Kamui recovered quickly and wiped the blood from her nose. She kicked off of the ground and struck down, knocking Corrin off balance. She swept her leg forward and kicked his legs out from under him, catching his fall by slamming her knee into his back and knocking the wind out of him.

The princess shook her head in disappointment. “I already told you, Brother. You can’t beat—”

Instead of writhing in pain, Corrin drew the blade of his sword across his sister’s inner thigh, metal cutting right through flesh. She cried out and fell on her back as the pain throbbed through her leg. Blood flowed like a river from the flesh wound and she pressed her palm into it to apply pressure. Corrin rose to his feet, panting and wiping the saliva from his mouth before before raising his leg and powerfully stomping down on Kamui’s shin. He heard something snap and saw her eyes widen. 

Kamui tried to scream, though her voice caught in her throat. She wanted to look her brother in the eyes, but he held his shut. She began to use her other leg to push herself back as she sweat heavily, her sword beginning to slip from her grip. 

Once she fell, everything began to topple for the Nohrians. Xander was knocked off of his steed and Camilla was far too exhausted to go on. Leo could not keep up with the speed of the Hoshidans and Elise was not able to heal fast enough. Corrin was very much aware of this, so he approached his sister slowly.

“Kamui…” He ground his teeth in frustration. “Leave. Now. Tell Xander to call off his troops and retreat…we already have enough rebuilding to do after the disaster at the plaza, we don’t need you causing any more destruction.” 

She gave a soft, weak smile and a pained laugh, then forcing herself to stand and grunting as she did. Her intense eyes locked onto Corrin’s as she spoke.

“Never forget, Brother. It was _your_ sword.”

“We’re outnumbered!” Xander suddenly called. “We have to retreat!” 

Kamui began limping as quickly as she could towards her family, who were already retreating. Before she disappeared among the flood of soldiers, she looked back and stared at her brother. Her twin who had been with her their whole lives. She shook her head and mouthed “Why?”, then continuing on her path and leaving the Hoshidans behind. Just as she knew she would from the day she arrived.

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Kamui sat in a carriage that rocked violently every three seconds on the rough road. She couldn’t walk, so she was glad that the royal siblings were put into different cars to be transported back to Windmire. The walls of the car were padded, providing her with a comfortable surface to lay her weary head. The only other living thing in the carriage was Xander. Each of the siblings had been assigned a different car, but he had insisted he ride with Kamui, saying that he did not want her to be alone at this time. Her wound had been only partially healed by Elise, but she still had to wear a bandage around her leg while she awaited further healing. She stared down at the sill of the car window, not wanting to make eye contact with her brother.

Xander broke the silence when she started to tear up. “Are you alright?”

“Am I alright?” the girl repeated. She looked up and shook her head. “No, I’m not alright, Xander. Did you see what just happened?” Kamui covered her face with both hands and grit her teeth. “We lost Corrin. We lost our brother. We just divided our family.”

The prince placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. Xander was a hardened man, but knew how to soften up when it came to his family. “We will get him back, I promise you. It won’t be easy and he’ll probably hate us for a while once we do, but we’ll do it. We’ll mend the bonds that he broke.” Kamui didn’t respond. “Kamui, look at me.”

She removed her hands and stared at her brother with a crestfallen expression. 

“We can fix this, little princess. The hardest part is yet to come,” he laid back and sighed, rubbing his temples, “which is explaining the situation to Father…do you think that when we tell the story, we should include the things that Corrin said about us?”

“No. I’m sure that would only anger him more.” Kamui shook her head and bit her tongue in frustration. “Your mission was to extract Corrin and I from Hoshido, wasn’t it? Won’t he be upset if he finds out that I was the only one to return?”

“Ah…” Xander looked away with hesitation. “Actually…the mission was to defeat the first line of Hoshido’s defenses. This was to be the first push in a series of many as a final effort to conquer them. Though, I suppose he’ll be angry either way.”

Kamui furrowed her brow. “He didn’t send you to retrieve us?”

“No. We had expressed concern over your disappearance, but he said that he had sent out a search party to look for you.”

She tilted her head in confusion. “I never heard anything about a search party until Elise told me.” 

“Ah…well, they were obviously unsuccessful.” He gave a warm smile to his little sister. “It’s lucky that we found you on a completely unrelated mission. Gods, you should’ve seen Elise’s face when Camilla flew back and told us that she saw you. That’s quite the coincidence, isn’t it?”

Kamui sighed and buried her face in her knees. “...Xander,” she said, ignoring his previous question, “did you know?”

“Hm?”

“Ganglari. If you knew what it would do, I need you to tell me.”

Xander pursed lips and stared out the window. “...No.” When he spoke, it was as if he let the word escape his mouth as opposed to forcing it out himself. “Of course not. I would never agree to have a part in an act as heinous as what transpired.”

A shudder ran down Kamui’s spine and hugged her knees even tighter. “She died protecting me, you know. I would have been killed by shrapnel if she hadn’t shielded me. She…without a moment’s hesitation, she jumped right in front of me and took the attack herself.” 

The heir’s eyes widened as his younger sister talked. “You almost _died?_” he whispered. “Gods, Kamui. I had no idea. I’m so sorry you had to experience that.”

“She died while I was holding her,” Kamui continued, her voice growing smaller and tears welling in her eyes once again. “I know that I shouldn’t care about the death of an enemy I didn’t even know, but to have someone die in your arms like that is just…” 

Xander tenderly wrapped his arms around Kamui and held her close as she continued to sob, rubbing his hand down her back. “I understand. Death is never an easy thing to witness, but it is a part of reality. You will come to see countless lives come and go, and eventually it will no longer phase you. You are one of the strongest people I have ever come across and I am sure that you’ll be great. Just look.” He pulled away and Kamui looked up with bloodshot eyes, her gaze being directed towards her newfound weapon leaning against the wall of the caravan car. “You and I are destined for greatness. Otherwise, we would never have been gifted our weapons. My, if only we were in a situation where I could have freely spoken to you when I saw that sword in your hand…”

“And what of Corrin?” Kamui asked. “Ryoma and Takumi? Are they destined for greatness as well? If that is the case, then…” 

“Greatness can mean many things,” Xander stated. “Saving the world or leading a large army into a glorious battle, even if they lose. They may be on the wrong side of history, but…they are worthy fighters, that enough is true.” 

Kamui did not quite understand what her brother meant, but she was far too exhausted to inquire. Instead, she simply rested her head against the wall with a seemingly permanent frown. “One moment Corrin and I were just stepping onto the battlefield together. The next we were fighting…and now I’m here.”

“Oh, little princess. You’re not just _here_.” Xander pushed aside the interior curtain of the carriage and showed Kamui the black silhouette of one of Castle Krakenburg’s spires. “You’re home.”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Kamui was somewhat glad that the large throne room doors had not grown unfamiliar to her over the few days that she had been away. They still stood tall and grandiose, imposing on her as if they were staring down at her with judgmental eyes. 

Xander took her small hand. “Are you ready?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. She had to remember who she was. Princess Kamui of Nohr. Kamui the strong. Kamui the bold. Kamui the stern. Back in Hoshido, she had let her emotions get the best of her. She had let infatuation take over when she met Azura. She had let anger take over when Mikoto died. She had let sorrow take over when Corrin abandoned her. 

She clenched her fist stood firm. She thought to herself that she had to get her emotions under control. As a child, she was incredibly impulsive and prone to emotional outbursts. She would throw tantrums at the drop of a hat, unlike Corrin, who remained meek and quiet throughout most of his childhood—the parts that they could remember, anyway.

With a single push, the throne room doors swung open. Xander led his sister into the room and she stayed behind his large form, not wanting her father to see her just yet. Garon sat upon the throne, leaning on his hand. “Xander. I see you’ve returned. I have not heard reports of your mission yet…was it successful?”

The prince grimaced and looked away. “Not exactly, father. We were doing excellently until we reached the back of their army. Ah…we found Kamui and Corrin.”

Kamui stepped out from behind her brother and forced her eyes to meet her father’s. Garon looked shocked and somewhat confused. “The twins are…? Hm…well, that’s good. It’s good to have you back, my daughter.”

“Thank you, Father.”

“Where is your brother?”

Xander cleared his throat. “That is what I was getting at, Father. The both of them had been held captive in Hoshido. The queen told them of their true heritage.”

Garon grimaced and sighed. “...I must apologize for not telling you sooner, Kamui. We thought it best that neither you nor Corrin knew.”

“It’s fine, Father…”

“They spent their time in Castle Shirasagi with the Hoshidan royal family,” Xander continued. “As a matter of fact, they were present at the time of the queen’s untimely death. She died shielding Kamui from shrapnel from an explosion. Furthermore, once we reunited during the battle, Corrin chose not to come back with us to Nohr. He’s currently still in Hoshido.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Garon slowly nodded. “I see…”

“Kamui has also informed me that she has transformed into a dragon, but we can discuss that later.”

It seemed as if Xander’s last statement did not reach Garon’s ears, as he continued on as if Xander had not spoken. “So Corrin still has Ganglari.” The king shook his head in disappointment. “A shame. It was a powerful blade, now lost to enemy forces.”

“A-Actually, Father,” Kamui began reluctantly. “The sword…the sword exploded in the town square. During an announcement about our supposed return to Hoshido, a hooded man summoned it to his side and it exploded. That’s what killed Moth—…that is what killed Queen Mikoto. The shrapnel would have hit me, but she shielded me with her own body…” She stared at her father with intense eyes and clenched her fists, hidden behind her back. “Forgive my accusation, but I must know. Did you gift Corrin the sword knowing that it would explode? You couldn’t possibly have known of our abduction, so I have my doubts, but why would your gift cause such a deadly explosion?”

Garon shook his head. “Of course I did not. I gave it to him under the pretense that it was a sword and only a sword. You said there was a hooded man, yes? He likely made it explode on his own by way of magic.”

The princess was about to respond, but her voice refused to make work of itself the moment she saw Iago reveal himself from behind the throne. He looked at her with a sinister gaze and upturned his nose.

“You, a child, accusing the king of such deceptive tactics? Why, if the king wanted something dead, he would do it directly. He’d never resort to such manners of warfare.” He turned to Garon and cleared his throat. “My lord, do you perhaps think that the Hoshidans have brainwashed her? Filled her heads with lies? She could be a spy for all we know.”

“Iago!” Xander shouted. He was silenced by the raising of Garon’s hand.

“I’m listening, Iago. Proceed.”

Iago smirked as the accused grit her teeth. Of course he would try to turn Garon against her. “Well, she spent time in Hoshido doing gods know what. Even her brother decided to stay behind. I theorize that they got to him completely, but did not have enough time to break the stronger of the two. Though…who’s to say that she’s not still under their control?”

Kamui glared at him with a fire in her eyes. She wanted to scream at the jester about how wrong he was. It was her own decision to return to Nohr; to return to her home. How dare he question her?  
Garon slowly nodded, placing his large and calloused hand on his chin. “You have a point…I do trust your judgement, Iago. Kamui?”

She sighed and stared up at her father with a blank look, hiding her rage. “Yes, Father?”

“I have a task for you that will prove your loyalty to Nohr. As you know, the Ice Tribe is under Nohrian control. Recently, they have been trying to rebel against the crown. I need you to put an end to this rebellion.”

“As you wish, Father. When will this be?”

“Tomorrow.”

Kamui looked perplexed. “Tomorrow…? Don’t you think that might be a bit soon? I’ve only just returned, after all.”

“There is no time to waste. Their rebellion must be cut short before it can fester further.” Garon sat up straight and sighed, shaking his head in what seemed to be disappointment. “On this mission, Elise may accompany you. In addition, Jakob will continue acting as your retainer. We have also drafted two soldiers from our frontline forces to assist you, Elise’s retainers. I believe you’ve met before, yes?”

“I may have seen one of them around before. It’s Effie, I believe.”

Xander stepped forward to speak. “And what am I to do, Father?”

“Given your status in our army, you have many duties, one of those being leading the additional charge against Hoshido. We cannot make a large scale push so soon after the last one, so small skirmishes within their forts will have to do.”

While disappointed that he would not be able to go with Kamui, Xander stepped back with a nod. Kamui glared at Iago, who chuckled at her obvious anger. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t run off with her sister now.” 

“You may take your leave.”

Kamui and Xander swiftly exited the throne room and closed the doors behind them. Xander grimaced and expected his ferocious little sister to lash out and start hitting everything in sight, but she simply sighed. “Of course. He didn’t even seem worried about me being gone. Hell, he doesn’t even care that Corrin is gone!”

“I’m sure he does, Sister. As a king, it would be a bad image to show such pitiful emotions.”

“Pitiful emotions? Like sadness? Relief? Xander, it’s not as if we were before an audience,” Kamui began. “It was just us and Iago, the little snake. Gods, I cannot believe he would throw me under the rug like that. Yes, he’s never particularly liked Corrin and I, but convincing Father that I’ve been brainwashed? And now I don’t even get a chance to reconnect with my family. No, I have to run off to some cold tundra somewhere to stop a rebellion of some lowly tribe.” She threw her arms up in frustration. “How wonderful.”

Kamui was somewhat surprised that Xander neglected to mention the sword at her side. She had told him about it during the carriage ride home and had expected him to inform her father at once, but he held his tongue. Why? 

The two began to walk towards Kamui’s chambers at her request. She said that she was to take a long and soothing bath and then sleep. It was true that she wanted to speak to her siblings, especially after being away, but she needed rest after all that had happened today. Her body and her mind were both exhausted.

About an hour later, the young woman stepped out of the bath and dressed herself for bed. She stared at the two twin beds side by side and frowned. This would be her first night sleeping without her brother. They’d done everything together for as long as she could remember, sleep included.

Kamui suddenly remembered something. She took a step back and a deep breath, then waved her hand in the air. A golden portal manifested itself before her, the portal to the Astral Plane. Kamui had no idea how she managed to do so, but Lilith had told her to simply try. 

She stepped through the portal and it instantly closed behind her. Her bare feet sank into the grassy earth and she smiled. It was nice to be somewhere pleasant and serene. She was glad that she now had a safe haven to return to any time the glum air of Nohr became too much.

“Lilith?” She called. “Lilith? Where are you?”

“What are you doing here?”

Kamui turned around, startled, and reached for a sword that wasn’t there. She froze when she saw him standing there. He did not look mad, only betrayed. Just like she had looked at the moment they separated. 

“Corrin…”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Corrin stared at his mother’s body laid to rest in her bed. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyes closed and her face serene. The bleeding had stopped due to the wounds being closed, though her dress remained bloody. Corrin wanted to cry but his tear ducts had run dry.

After the battle, the Hoshidans had swiftly retreated. Reconstruction of the square was to begin the next day. Nohrian representatives had in fact arrived for a meeting, but were captured on sight. They were being questioned at the moment. 

The young boy laid his head on Mikoto’s chest to tightly grit his teeth with a shaky breath. “This is my fault,” he whispered to himself. “My sword. My carelessness…I—I could’ve prevented this.” He shook his head and tightly gripped the hem of the white dress. “I’m sorry, Mother. I’m so, so sorry.”

The floorboard behind him creaked and Corrin’s sensitive ears twitched. He quickly raised his head and looked behind him only to sigh and return to his previous position. “If you’re here to yell at me, just get it over with so that I can mourn.”

“You’re not the only one upset here. She was our mother too, you know.” Takumi walked over to the bed and stared down. “More our mother than yours.”

Corrin glared at the boy. “More your mother than mine…” he repeated in a whisper. “Because she was the one who gave birth to you, right? She’s your blood mother?”

Takumi grimaced. “Well, of course.”

“What, then should I say that she was more my mother than yours because I was born first or something of the sort?” Corrin shook his head angrily. “No. Regardless of time spent with her, she was both your mother and mine.”

“You know, why did you stay anyway?” Takumi asked, raising his voice. “Do you know how foolish that was? You’re the reason Mother is dead and you didn’t even go back to where you came from! You let your sister run off on her own! What kind of brother does that?”

“What kind of sister abandons her family?!” Corrin hastily stood and balled his fists. “I stayed behind to protect my people—my country! I stayed so I could finally get to know the family I’ve been denied all my life! I stayed so I could avenge my mother! How dare you try to ridicule me for wanting to fulfill my birthright?!”

“Because _YOU_ killed her in the first place!”

“Stop fighting!”

Both boys turned to the doorway where Sakura stood firm with tears in her eyes. Hinoka was behind, her looking rather sad as she held her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “Please, stop fighting,” Sakura repeated. “Y-you’re supposed to brothers. Brothers aren’t supposed to fight like this…I don’t like seeing either of you angry, so please stop.”

Hinoka spoke up next. “Look…Takumi, I understand where you’re coming from. Our mother died. It was indirectly caused by Corrin and Kamui, yes, but it’s not like they meant for it to happen. You shouldn’t be angry with him at this point. He could’ve left with his sister and gone back to Nohr, but he didn’t. He stayed here with us. Doesn’t that earn him at least a bit of respect from you?” 

Takumi stared at his sisters, then to Corrin. “I…don’t I have a right to be upset? Upset over the death of our mother?”

“Of course you do!” Sakura responded. “B-but…you two can’t hate each other forever. You’re family, okay? Family…families are supposed to support each other, especially in times like this.”

Corrin scoffed and shook his head. “Tell that to Kamui.” He stormed past his sisters through the doorway, taking heavy steps until he reached his room. He slammed the door behind him and flopped down onto his bed, screaming into his pillow. 

Corrin was not a person who became upset often. In fact, he was rarely even frustrated. If something was annoying him then he would usually remove himself from the situation or think of something else, but this was a special case. Yes, he’d only known Mikoto for a day, and yes, Takumi had the right to be upset, but that boy just did not get it. All his life, Corrin had wanted to know his mother. Kamui was the one that was so against pestering Garon about it in the first place, yet the desire for the truth had never left the young prince’s mind. 

Suddenly, Corrin felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed up. “Kamui?” He looked up and was met with a concerned face. “Oh, Azura. Ah…it’s good to see you.”

Azura flashed a slight smile. “Same to you. I could not help but overhearing you and Takumi’s argument. I wouldn’t dwell on it for too long. Takumi tends to have little outbursts like that; I’m sure this one was only more explosive because of the subject matter. You must try and understand how he’s feeling, however.”

After a sigh, Corrin shook his head. “Yes…I’ll just drop it from this point on.”

“Now. Since the queen has passed, Ryoma is to be the new ruler. Under normal circumstances, we would hold a coronation to make it official. However, these are not normal circumstances. The high council has decided that he will be installed as king at once, but the coronation will only be held once the war is over. Ryoma himself has said that he would like to remain as commander for the Hoshidan army, but the council has advised against this. So, we are currently without a commander.”

Corrin stared blankly at her and slowly nodded. “Yes…what does this have to do with me?”

Azura gave an awkward sigh. “Well…Ryoma has recommended you for the role.”

The prince sat up in an instant in shock, his eyes wide. “What?! He wants me to be the commander of an army?! Why? I barely even have any combat experience!” 

“He says that you show promise as a leader. You apparently showed leadership qualities when you were merely a baby. He also admires your fighting style and such.”

“That doesn’t mean that I’m fit to lead an army! Azura, I’ve barely left my fortress! I don’t know much about the world or political affairs, and I buckle easily under pressure!”

With a shrug, Azura turned back around. “I’ll be sure to tell Ryoma that the next I see him. Get some sleep for now, alright? If you’re actually put in as commander, then you’re going to need your rest.” The songstress smoothly walked through the door and began to close it, keeping her head in the room. “Goodnight, Corrin.”

“Goodnight, Azura,” Corrin mumbled as the door closed. Putting aside what he had just been told, he thought about how this would be his first night without Kamui. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in sadness, shaking his head. “...Lilith!” 

He stood up and approached the room wall, taking a breath. Gazing at the wall and making a circular motion with his right hand, a golden portal appeared before him. A smile crept along his face and he took a single step through it.

Corrin took a deep breath of fresh air as he entered the Astral Plane. The cool breeze and the soft grass tickling his feet calmed him. This sense of security was immediately washed away when he saw her long, white hair in front of him. 

His voice nearly caught in his throat. “What are you doing here?”

Kamui turned around quickly, immediately reaching for her sword which was not at her side. Her face grew sorrowful when she laid eyes on him. “Corrin…”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Answer my question,” Corrin demanded with a shaky voice. “What are you doing here?”

Kamui’s hand slowly returned to her side. “I…I wanted to pay Lilith a visit. To tell her about what happened. To tell her about…everything that happened.” 

“Well, we have to find her first. Once we do that, we should figure—”

“This isn’t going to work,” Kamui hastily said, pursing her lips. “You and I…being here at the same time. We can’t have that.”

Corrin stared into his sister’s eyes, then at her leg, then averted his gaze towards the swaying grass. “Yes…yes, I know. We have to find Lilith.”

“I’m here,” Lilith said from the side. She was floating on her orb, eyeing the twins with a concerned expression. They both looked at her and grimaced.

“I will spare you the details, but…it seems that Corrin and I have joined the war on opposite sides. I sided with Nohr, he sided with Hoshido.”

Lilith tilted on her orb and thinned her eyes, puzzled. “You…you’ve separated? But…why?”

Corrin rapidly shook his head. “Let’s not talk about that right now. If we’re going to visit here, we can’t be in close proximity—it just can’t happen. Too many complications would arise. I was wondering if there was anywhere one of us could go?”

The dragon sighed and turned around towards the vast plains of grass around them. “Well…the Astral Plane is infinite. You could get as far away from each other as you desired by just walking. However, that would take quite a while…” She floated over to Corrin and extended her fin. “Kamui, I will speak to you later. As for now…Corrin, take hold.”

After a quick remorseful glance at his other half, Corrin quickly pinched Lilith’s fin between his thumb and index finger. In a flash of light, the two of them were gone, leaving Kamui by her lonesome.

The girl dropped down and sat on the ground, hugging her knees. She ripped a handful of grass from the ground, then unclenching her fists and letting the blades be carried off by the gentle wind. Finally, she let out a deep breath that she had been holding in and slowly let her eyes close themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, Mikoto's life comes to an end, the twins separate, and the war between Nohr and Hoshido escalates even further. As always, comments and kudos are more appreciated than you think. Have a good one.


	5. A Dragon's Vow

The halls of Castle Krakenburg were void and barren. King Garon had sent out a battalion of soldiers for a small scale attack on Hoshido earlier that day, so the usual occupants of the castle were either off fighting or off working on matters related to the war. However, Nohr’s enigmatic princess was walking silently down the main hall, her remaining retainer following close behind. He was rattling off their plans for the week while she mindlessly put one leg in front of the other, her eyes only half open.

Princess Kamui yawned and reminded herself to maintain proper posture even in the presence of only one person of inferior status. She had to work extra hard to pay attention to Jakob’s words despite her usual attentive attitude. It was early in the morning and she had not gotten much sleep the previous night, being kept awake by dark thoughts constantly attacking her mind. Thoughts of her country, her brother, and her choices took priority over the words of her retainer. During the initial attack on Hoshido, Flora had fled from the castle and left Felicia and Jakob on their own. With Gunter dead, the duo had to increase their effort twofold.

“Now, you’ll have to meet with the retainers of your siblings. They usually stand by their respective liege in whatever battles they may take part in, but due to recent events, they’ll be joining the army over time. Garon has assigned you and Elise with the task of dispersing a rebellious tribe. The ah…the tribe Flora comes from, as a matter of fact.”

Kamui raised her eyebrows, her interest suddenly piqued. “Flora? That’s…I see. You don’t think we’ll run into her, do you?” she asked with a hint of concern. She and Flora had never gotten along well. The maid always seemed to favor Corrin over Kamui and even their personalities seemed to clash. However, that did not mean that she was looking forward to potentially ravaging Flora’s home.

“I certainly hope so. Maybe then we could convince her to return to us.” Jakob sighed pensively, putting his hand on his chin. “Though, that raises the question on what King Garon would do to her as punishment…”

“The sentence for desertion is one of three things. Exilement, public humiliation, or death. I do not wish to think of what the punishment for abandoning a princess would be.”

“Kamui!”

The princess nearly jumped as her energetic little sister appeared from around the corner with a bubbly smile. “Oh, did I scare ya? Sorry, sorry! I was just excited to introduce you to these two!” She turned around and suddenly pouted, putting her fists on her hips. “You guys are such slowpokes! Hurry up!”

A few moments later, two soldiers walked up behind Elise, a man and a woman. The woman was wearing a pink bodysuit and had a slim figure that fit well with her cute face and short blonde hair. The man—also blonde—stood with a pose that said more about his perception of himself than anything else. He had a sharply angled chiseled jaw and a chin that noticeably jutted out. He smiled wide while looking down on Kamui, who was significantly shorter.

The blonde man bowed along with the woman. “Greetings, Your Highness! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance! I am Sir Arthur, humble servant of Nohr, and this is Lady Effie!”

“No no, just Effie is fine,” the woman said with a friendly smile. She had a surprisingly deep voice for a dainty looking girl. “We’re Elise’s retainers. We have been for a few years now, actually. I don’t know why we haven’t met you before, really. Or heard of you…” 

Kamui frowned but quickly fixed up her face, remembering that she was addressing mere retainers. “Ah, yes. My father has kept me somewhat hidden from the rest of the world. Likely to keep the upbringing of the greatest Nohrian general a secret. He wouldn’t want the Hoshidans to come and assassinate me in my sleep, would he?”

“No, I suppose that would be—”

“Egads! That would be a most ghastly fate for a fair maiden such as yourself!” Arthur cut in. Kamui made a sour face and gave Arthur a terrifying stare.

“Fair maiden?”

“Ah, excuse me! I meant to say valiant warrior! Yes, that’s a much more fitting title, Princess Kamui,” Arthur quickly corrected himself, fearful of whatever Kamui would do to him if he had not redacted his insult.

Elise laughed at her companion’s slip up. “Oh, Arthur, you’d better watch your tongue around her! She might just cut it off!” Kamui frowned at her words. Is that really how her own sister perceived her? She wasn’t exactly surprised, but it stung the same. It wasn’t as if she had done much to make herself come off as compassionate, but still, Elise?

“Really?” Effie asked curiously. “She doesn’t seem all that scary…ah! Excuse my disrespect, Princess.”

“Just Kamui is fine,” Kamui replied. If she were to be working with these people then it would be a good idea to at least get on their good side. Besides, they were friends of Elise. She could be a bit much at times, but she was still her sister.

With Corrin gone, Kamui figured that she should be closer to the siblings that she had left.

She bit her tongue at the thought. “Anyway, are any of you informed as to when we’re supposed to leave? I’m afraid I was never told.”

“In a few hours! Around eleven. We’re just making our last minute preparations, you know?” Elise answered.

“I do find it a bit weird that he’s only sending the five of us,” Effie added. “What if we run into bandits? I’m confident that we can take on a small group, but we could be pretty easily outnumbered.”

“Fear not, dear Effie! We will not falter in the face of evil! I’m sure that Lady Kamui will carry us onwards to victory!” Arthur reassured her, somehow seeming to smile again even though he never stopped. Kamui flinched. He spoke like every sentence was an announcement to the world.

Elise hopped once in agreement and clapped her hands together. “Of course she will, my big sister’s super strong!” she said. She then gave Kamui a quick hug and smiled up at her. “Alright, you get some rest! You’ll need all your strength! We’ll finish up our preparations and call you when we’re heading off, ‘kay?”

With a nod from Kamui, Arthur and Effie followed after Elise as she waved and walked away with a bounce in every step. “Bye, Big Sister! Bye, Jakob!”

Kamui waved back while Jakob simply gave a nod in respect to the other princess. Continuing their walk down the hall, Kamui bit the inside of her cheek. She had expected Elise to lose her bubbly demeanor as a result of Corrin’s betrayal, but she seemed to be perfectly fine. She was even calling Kamui “Big Sister”. She smiled warmly at the thought. “Do you remember when Corrin used to call me ‘Big Sister’, too? Isn’t that funny? We’re twins, after all.”

“Kamui.”

“I’m not growing soft, Jakob, just reminiscing about the past. Is that so wrong?” Kamui asked in a genuine tone. Jakob did not respond, so she simply sighed. “Don’t try and act like you don’t miss him.”

“I never said that,” Jakob responded quickly. “Of course I miss him, but we have more pressing matters at hand. There is a war going on and he is fighting on the other side. What if one of our soldiers mistake him for a normal enemy and he ends up with an axe in his skull?”

“I think our men are smart enough to recognize a prince when they see one. It’s not like he blends in well.”

“Still.” Jakob sighed and rubbed his temples. “There is much to worry about, but I assure you that I will see to it that everything is in order for the coming months of the war.”

Kamui nodded with a smile. Jakob was always reliable.

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Even as the newly sworn in commander of the Hoshidan army, Corrin still felt like an outcast.

These people were not like him. They did not look like him, they did not dress like him, their mannerisms were different and so were their values. Azura had advised him to make friends, but that was proving to be difficult. 

Aside from his those related to him, Kaze, Rinkah, and a cheerful girl named Hana were the only ones that Corrin had made friends with. There was another man by the name of Subaki, though Corrin felt more intimidated by him than anything else.

Subaki and Hana were Sakura’s retainers. Hana was an upbeat and peppy samurai with a positive outlook on life while Subakia was a seemingly perfect pegasus knight. He appeared to be naturally talented at everything he tried his hand out and would carry out his duties without flaw. They reminded him of his own retainers, Flora and Felicia. He hadn’t seen either of them in what seemed like forever and wondered if he would ever get to hear their voices again when he was plummeting into the abyss of the Bottomless Canyon. That was the event that set all of this into motion. Corrin frowned at the memory.

He missed Kamui. They had left on bad terms and he resented that. He made her cry and he resented that, too. He had only ever seen her cry once before, when a maid she had developed a crush on was publicly put on the gallows for stealing jewelry from the castle. Kamui’s tears were most definitely not a pleasant sight. 

Corrin sat in a large leather chair in a room that was dubbed the command room. Before him was a large glass table with a display of Hoshido and a portion of Nohr under it. This was the room where battle strategies were devised and here he was, sitting at the tactician’s chair. It was an odd feeling. In such a short amount of time, he had risen from no one knowing his name to being in possession of one of the most important positions in the world.

He quietly blessed Camilla for teaching him basic social skills when he was small. He expected the Hoshidans to be a completely different species from the people in his fortress with whom he had little interaction, but they were as normal as the people he had read about in the novels he enjoyed. He liked his new siblings, too. Ryoma seemed far less stoic than Xander could be and even if Takumi did not like him, he hoped to eventually get along with him. 

Corrin quietly chuckled to himself; the Hoshidans had funny hair. He had never seen a woman with hair as short as Hinoka’s and he thought that Takumi’s hair resembled a pineapple. Of course, he had never seen a pineapple in person, but he assumed that they weren’t too different from the pictures.

He jumped when his train of thought was abruptly derailed by a knock on the door. Despite it being gentle and relatively short, it still startled him. He fumbled to find the words to respond. Somebody was knocking on a door that wasn’t even his, most likely expecting someone else. He babbled for a few moments before speaking. “Ahm…c-come in!”

The door was slowly opened and in came two people whom Corrin had not seen before. One of them was a man with a long face and large brown hair that poofed up in all directions, though primarily upwards. He wore a monk’s robe and carried a healing staff, making it obvious what his role was among the army. Once again, Corrin noted that he had funny hair. 

The woman on the other hand did not have funny hair—it was simple and blue. She wore a white hair accessory that Corrin did not recognize around her head and was dressed in loose fitting clothes. She had pouty lips as well as an aloof expression on her face and was rather cute by Corrin’s standards.

“Um…hello.” Corrin said awkwardly, pressing his lips together. He was not sure exactly what they wanted and as such was not sure how to present himself. Were they high ranking officials? Soldiers? Or were they just ordinary citizens who has somehow made their way into the castle? They certainly didn’t dress like it.

The man widely smiled and stepped farther into the room. “Hello! You are Corrin, yes?” he asked. Corrin nodded, though wondered how the man could even see him considering his eyes seemed to be permanently closed. “Ah, wonderful! I am Azama. This is Setsuna. We are the retainers of your sister, Hinoka. We were told to introduce ourselves to you.”

“Hiii,” Setsuna said flatly with a wave. 

“Oh, you’re Hinoka’s retainers? Well, it’s nice to make your acquaintance,” Corrin said politely. It was hard adapting to a new environment, but at least their manners seemed to be the same. His only concern was that he’d end up accidentally being disrespectful due to not knowing of some sort of strange cultural taboo.

“We were sent to help you adjust to your new job. Subaki volunteered to help, but he is an idiot when it comes to leading a large amount of people, so the responsibility falls on us.” Azama casually insulted Subaki while still bearing his static smile, which threw Corrin off guard by quite a bit. “Is there anything you would like assistance with?”

“Well,” Corrin began, “I’m only studying basic formation right now. What works and what doesn’t, what type of soldier should go where, all of that. I think I’m getting it all just fine, though.”

“Ah, that’s what they all say.” Azama sighed and shook his head. “But then when it comes to actually putting it into practice, they all fall apart like the fools they are. They jumble their commands or misremember things and some poor soul ends up dead before their time. It’s pathetic, really. You would think a tactician would be better disciplined.”

Corrin blinked. Azama certainly had an odd way of carrying himself. He seemed especially harsh in his words all while maintaining his whimsical tone and smile. Corrin forced himself to laugh as not to offend. 

“Haha, I’ll try not to be one of them, then.”

“So you’re from Nohr?” Setsuna asked in a breath. “What’s it like there?”

“Ah…” he had rarely left his fortress since he was a child, so he did not have much experience exploring the country. He went off of what he had read and heard from his siblings. “Well, it’s dark. It’s gloomy. Almost everything there is done under the supervision of the government. The people aren’t all that bad, but no one’s really happy there. There’s a high crime rate, even though the punishment is execution. Lot of magic around there, mainly of the ‘dark’ variety. Hm, what else…”

Setsuna frowned. “That sounds like it sucks. It’s pretty much the opposite here in Hoshido.” She stepped forward and sat down in an empty chair, resting her head on the roundtable. “Our government is pretty hands off for the most part. Everyone’s happy, but a surprising amount are kind of mean. Wildlife is whatever. Not a lot of crime. Our magic is spirit based, though there are a few dark mages around, I think. I like it here, though.” 

“Some parts are quite dreadful, however,” Azama added. “I’m no pessimist, so I won’t exaggerate, but a select few areas of Hoshido are genuinely among the worst places on the planet.”

Corrin once again forced a smile. Azama’s sharp tongue and Setsuna’s aloof nature were throwing him off. They were Hoshidan soldiers—weren’t they supposed to be noble and valiant? It was especially hard to get a read on what they were thinking at any given time. Maybe Hinoka had sent them to act like this as a joke to maybe make him feel more like family? At least that would mean they had a sense of humor. Yet, as the minutes passed by, Corrin saw no change in their behavior.

“Your sister left, did she not?” Azama asked a few minutes later. “A shame. Did you two not get along or was there a different matter?”

Corrin grimaced at the mention of Kamui and bit his lip. He did not want to think about her right now. “Yes. She wanted to stay with our Nohrian family and help them with the war.” He shook his head and flipped a page in his strategy tome. “I’m not mad at her for her decision or anything, but I do wish that we weren’t separated. We’re twins, and I read somewhere that it’s bad for twins to be apart from each other for a long time, so that’s concerning. We were pretty close, too. She may have been difficult to handle sometimes, but she’s still my sister.”

Azama tilted his head. “Don’t you feel betrayed? It was partially her fault that the queen was killed and then she leaves the country to fight against us. Does she hate her family in Hoshido?”

“No!” Corrin blurted out. He caught himself and shook his head. “Sorry, but no, I don’t think she does. She’s just too attached to our father to turn her back on him, which…I think I understand.”

“Maybe she’s scared of him, not attached to him,” Setsuna suggested as she fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. 

That notion had not crossed Corrin’s mind. From the way she defended him it seemed as if she genuinely believed in him, but her father was indeed a terrifying man when provoked. He usually got his underlings to do his dirty work for him, but he would occasionally carry out executions by his own hand depending on how severe the crime was. Maybe she was actually harboring fear for him?  
Shaking his head, Corrin dismissed the thought. Kamui was not one to be scared. She was the rock. Yes, she had gotten emotional on that final day in Hoshido, but a lot had happened in a short amount of time. Her Mother was killed protecting her, she sided against her birth family, and then her twin brother who she had known all her life did not join. Anyone would cry if they had to go through that.

“That’s possible, but I don’t think so. Kamui wouldn’t be scared of anybody.”

Setsuna shrugged. “Hey, you never know. By the way, I figured Azama would tell you this but he hasn’t said anything so far, so I will. We’re heading to Fort Jinya tomorrow to help out there.”

“Fort Jinya? I’ve never heard of that.”

“Of course you haven’t, you’re new. Anyway, their soldiers got the worst of the attack yesterday. Sakura’s already over there with Hana and Subaki. Only a few of us will be going there, Azama and I included.”

Corrin gave a nod and closed his tome, coughing as dust was blown into the air. “Well, I look forward to getting to know the both of you.”

Setsuna cocked her head to the side. “Are you flirting with me?”

Corrin’s face and the tips of his ears flushed red in embarrassment. “F-flirting? Why would I be flirting?”

“You looked at me weird when you said that. If you like me then you can just tell me, that makes it easier.”

Azama gave a hearty laugh as Corrin searched for words, finding none. “Oh, don’t mind her. She’s only teasing.”

“I’m not teasing.”

“Then she’s delusional.” Azama clapped once. “I’ll be taking my leave now, I have my own matters to attend to. Goodbye!” he said as he calmly yet quickly walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

Corrin and Setsuna sat in an awkward silence. Setsuna’s seemingly unbreakable stare remained fixed to Corrin’s face, making him quite uncomfortable. She smiled after a while.

“You’re cute. Let’s be friends, Corrin. Sorry if I get too uh…ditzy for you, though. Some people complain about that.”

Corrin internally sighed with relief. She only wanted to be friends, of course. He wasn’t so good with people and it appeared that she was the same, and that was absolutely fine by him.  
“Oh, friends. I would like that. I don’t have very many friends here. My two best friends, Flora and Felicia, are back in Nohr. We got separated on the way back to Castle Krakenburg. It’s an odd story, really, but you wouldn’t want to hear it.”

“Tell it,” Setsuna said flatly, blinking at Corrin. “I wanna know.”

“Oh, alright. One of the people that Garon had sent on a mission with Kamui and I attacked us on the bridge over the Bottomless Canyon. He ended up killing Gunter, who’s kind of like my grandfather. Kamui activated her…dragon abilities I suppose, and attacked him. We ended up falling into the chasm, but we didn’t die. See, we woke up in some sort of different dimension? I’m still not entirely sure…either way, we were able to make it back, and that’s when Kaze and Rinkah captured us. They took us back to the castle after that.”

Setsuna nodded in understanding, not questioning a single thing that Corrin said, much to his surprise. “And then your mom died and you two took opposite sides. That sucks.” When Corrin did not respond, Setsuna began tracing her finger along the table in a loop. “Are you lonely?”

Corrin did not know how to answer the question. “I don’t know. I have my siblings, but I’ve been without Kamui for less than twenty-four hours. I’m just glad that I didn’t spend all day crying. It is hard to adjust, but I think I can do it so long as I have support from others. Friends and whatnot.”

“And we’re friends, so I can help you get through it,” Setsuna stated. She didn’t say it as a suggestion, but more of a statement. She would assist Corrin in adjusting to his new life in Hoshido whether he liked it or not.

Corrin gave her a warm smile. He was wary at first, but he liked Setsuna. She was odd in a charming way that he found somewhat endearing. “I appreciate that a lot, Setsuna.”

“Great.” Setsuna stood up and stretched. “I use a bow, by the way. If you have to plan out any strategies that need an archer, just make sure to keep in mind that it’s not just another archer. It’s your best friend, Setsuna.” She smiled at him and waved as she walked towards the door. “See ya.”

When Setsuna left the room and closed the door behind her, Corrin was once again left alone.

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Kamui wanted to go home.

The Woods of The Forlorn was the only major obstacle standing between her party and the Ice Tribe village. While planning the trip, she had absolutely no issue with it. However, she hated it with all her being once she stepped foot in it.

It was a wet and murky marsh, more akin to a swamp than the woods. Every step she took caused the damp ground to make a sloshing sound that got on her nerves quickly. It was not helping that the weight of Effie’s large armor made her footsteps make an even more disgusting sound. Even Elise on her horse was visibly upset by the environment.

“How long is this going to take?” she whined, leaning forward on her mount. The usually bubbly girl looked absolutely miserable. “Cottonbelle is getting tired and I can’t walk here in these boots!”

“Cottonbelle?” Kamui inquired curiously in a mumble. She too was tired and did not have the energy to speak at a normal volume.

“Her horse, the name is Cottonbelle,” Effie answered with a smile. She seemed to not mind all the walking at all. “It’s understandable that you didn’t know her name, she was only given to her last month.”

“Ah yes, Cottonbelle! A brave and noble steed fit for a princess!” Arthur announced with all his jubilance. His energy was draining Kamui even more. Luckily for her, she could focus on the calming sound of Jacob’s humming while fingering the depressions on the blade of her sword.

She still was not sure exactly why she had been chosen by one of the Yato Blades. Legendary weapons were bestowed unto heroes or people destined for greatness, so she was confused as to how in the world she was worthy of one. Xander was a strong and powerful leader. His blade, Siegfried, had chosen him as a child. Leo was extremely intelligent and a magical prodigy, so it made sense that the legendary Brynhildr would deem him worthy. She wasn’t sure how Takumi was deserving of his Fujin Yumi, but she knew that he at least had strong convictions. As for Ryoma, he was a noble prince and a naturally born leader that radiated confidence everywhere he went, so of course the Raijinto would choose him.

And then there were the twins.

They were not heroes and they certainly were not destined for any sort of greatness. Corrin’s sword had caused an explosion that killed dozens of people and led to mass destruction while a kindhearted queen had died protecting Kamui. Neither of them were noble or valiant or anything of the sort. They did not deserve their weapons.

On a lesser note, It was also annoying that while all the other legendary weapons that she knew of had some special attribute to them, hers was just a sword! It was made of strong material and looked nice, yes, but it was still just a sword! It could not shoot lightning bolts or steal the life force of others or manifest itself from nothing, it just cut and stabbed things! If she was to be blessed with a weapon of such wonder, why could she not have gotten something of more use? Ryoma had recognized the weapons as the Yato Blades, meaning that there had to be records of them and their history somewhere. Kamui made a mental note to research that when she returned to the castle.

The girl snapped her attention to Jakob when she heard him grunt. She did not see it happen, but he had apparently lodged one of his daggers in the neck of an approaching Faceless. The beast dropped to its knees before exploding into black smoke, the dagger falling into the muck of the ground.

Elise shuddered. “I’ve never seen one of those things up close before…sometimes, I hear Father and Iago talking about them, but that’s it.”

“They are kind of scary looking,” Effie added. “Nothing we can’t take care of, though.”

Watching the silver blade sink into the ground, Kamui noted just how filthy it had gotten. Then, she suddenly recalled something that she had been meaning to ask. “Oh! Jakob, how has Felicia been? I haven’t seen her since we were separated.”

Jakob sighed and shook his head. “Devastated. She has not left her room since you returned yesterday. First she loses Flora and then Corrin, so I imagine she must feel rather lonesome.”  
“Wasn’t she like, in love with him or something?” Elise asked curiously.

“I would not call it that, but she most definitely was infatuated with him.” Jakob removed a dagger from his belt and flung it directly forward. It pierced another Faceless directly in the chest, causing it to dissipate at once. “My, they certainly are picking up in numbers as we go along. Remain on guard.”

Arthur laughed confidently and held his axe high in the air. “Fear not! I shall protect all of you from any harm that may come your way!” he stated, but quickly bit his tongue. “Err, not saying that you NEED protection, but if it helps—”

“Arthur!” Kamui drew her blade and quickly ran behind Arthur, stabbing an encroaching faceless in the chest and forcing the sword upwards to kill it. “Gods! Where did that one come from?” 

Elise screamed and everyone readied their weapons in reaction. All around them were dozens of Faceless closing in with murderous intent. They were severely outnumbered, something that worried Kamui greatly. 

“What are our orders, Kamui?” Effie asked as she held her lance in a combative stance. Kamui suddenly realized that she was indeed supposed to give orders to her little band of soldiers, but her mind was so jumbled that she had difficulty thinking. Every time she had pictured being a leader she had had Corrin in mind, but now that she was alone…

She shook her head to expunge the thoughts from her mind. “Effie, protect Elise. Don’t stray more than a few metres from her. Jakob, watch Arthur’s back.”

Arthur frowned. It was clear that he did not like this plan very much. “And what of you, milady?”

“I can handle myself, trust me.” Corrin reached into a small compartment on her armor’s waistguard and gripped her dragonstone. She had nearly forgotten about it since Azura gave it to her the previous day. She knew that it would make her strong, but would she truly be able to control herself? “No hesitation,” she whispered to herself. 

She tightly squeezed the stone and green light began to shine through her fingers, which began to grow into claws once the stone disappeared. It was a strange feeling, having her stretchy and tight fitting armor seemingly melt into her skin, which turned into hard plated scales. The colors of her vision started to shift, becoming distorted and blurred before shifting to even more precise than that of her human form. Kamui could now see every little detail. Every blade of grass, every crack in the mask of a Faceless, every strand of hair on Elise’s head. It was a strange but exhilarating feeling.

Arthur shuddered. “I had been told that she could do this, but seeing it up close is…”

Kamui tried to speak and was surprised when it worked despite her not having a mouth. “Focus, Arthur!” Her voice came out distorted but still comprehensible with heavy reverb. She did not know where it was coming from, but it was there, so she didn’t question it.

As the rest of her party rushed off to combat the oncoming Faceless, Kamui charged forward recklessly. She barreled through three of the beasts and raised her claws to slash at the throat of one, taking it out with ease. She then used her thick tail to knock one out of the way and felt a rush of adrenaline.

This was new to her, of course. She was not exactly sure how this worked, but it all felt natural. It was not even odd to walk on four legs or use her tail. Kamui felt much stronger than she was in her human state, and even in that form she knew that she was exceptionally capable. Though, this was not to say that she had no difficulty at all. The Faceless seemed to be naturally drawn to her and quickly overwhelmed her with their numbers alone. It was difficult to fight them off when several of them were tightly grabbing onto her tail and legs, some even reaching for her wings. Grunting, she attempted to lower in her head and flail around in order to throw them off, but one of the monsters wrapped its arms around her long neck and refused to let go. She was being slowly pulled down, her feet beginning to sink into the bog…

Kamui heard something making a splish splash sound rapidly approaching. Her first instinct was to be fearful. Another Faceless coming to jump on her, maybe? Or perhaps it was one of her party members coming to her rescue? No, the splashes were too quick to be two legs. It was a mount, but it couldn’t have been Elise. It would be too dangerous for her to try to help on her own. So who?  
She felt the weight holding her down suddenly disappear, hearing the sounds of grunting as well as metal slicing through the air. Once the Faceless on her neck was dealt with, she looked up to see exactly who was helping her. What she saw was an armored man on an armored horse wielding a steel lance, quickly expelling the Faceless from existence. He had light green eyes and silver hair that curved upward, making it resemble a large wave. He was a handsome man with a well defined physique even in his armor.

Kamui gasped as well as a dragon could. “Silas?!” she shouted. She recognized him immediately. There was no mistaking that hair—it was definitely Silas.

Silas looked around for the source of the voice before locking gazes with the dragon before him. He squinted in confusion. “Oh, this one can talk? Well, that’s interesting.” He continued to pierce and stab at the Faceless around him. “Don’t worry, though! I’ll protect you from these things! You must be on Kamui’s side if you’re fighting these things, right?”

Kamui felt like smiling. With a sudden renewed confidence, she attacked ferociously with every pointy bit on her body. When there were only a few remaining in her area, she looked to Silas with glee. “Silas, it’s me! Don’t you recognize my voice?”

Perplexed, Silas shook his head. “Am I supposed to? It’s kind of hard to make out what you’re saying, by the way. I think I would remember knowing a dragon. You are a dragon, right? You’re not some other type of monster?”

After internally rolling her eyes, Kamui took a deep breath and focused. She wanted to turn back into her human form, so that’s exactly what she did. She felt herself shrinking in size, much to her dismay. She was a short girl and being a dragon made her feel tall. Finally, she stood on two feet, still fully clothed and holding her dragonstone. She flashed Silas a smile.

He gasped, losing focus of the fight. “K-Kamui!” he exclaimed. He seemed happy, but his look of joy faded into one of confusion. “So that’s where you went! You’re a dragon?”

“I’ll explain later. What are you doing here?” Kamui asked, drawing her sword and beginning to slash at the monsters. “I haven’t seen you in years!”

“Eleven, to be exact. Well, I became a knight of the Nohrian army!” Silas said with a laugh. “I’ve been waiting ever since then to see you again. You always talked about how you were going to become a great general, so I figured I'd maybe get to be among your soldiers!”

Dispatching the final Faceless, Kamui dropped her guard and sheathed her sword. Silas dropped down from his steed and walked forward, throwing his arms around her in a hug. She embraced him back, glad to see a familiar face. “It looks like that worked out. Those people over there fighting—are they your troops?”

Kamui nodded and released Silas from her hug. “I suppose they are. One of them is my sister, Elise. I’m sure you know of the princess, but you might not remember her from when we were children. She was only five, afterall.”

“Oh, she’s gotten so big! But let’s not get ourselves off track, we should meet up with those other guys. They seem to be finished up with their own work.”

Kamui looked behind her and sure enough, her troops were making their way towards the commander.

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“So…Corrin’s gone, huh?” Silas asked. He was sitting on a log that was beginning to rot, everyone else more or less doing the same. “That’s too bad. The three of us were so close.”

Jakob cleared his throat. “Yes, I vividly remember you dragging off Lady Kamui every opportunity you had. You do realize that you are partially the reason why she was confined to that damned fortress for so long, right?”

“Yeah…” Silas sighed and rubbed the back of his neck apologetically. How could he forget? Had it not been for Kamui’s strong opposition, he would have been executed at the ripe age of eleven. Silas was Corrin and Kamui’s only real friend as children and would frequently visit them. Though one night, he decided to take the two out of the Northern Fortress for a picnic and they were caught by a guard on patrol. It was only due to Kamui yelling ferociously at the guards that he was not killed on the spot, though he was banished from the fortress and the twins’ restrictions were heavily tightened. “I always felt so guilty that you guys never got to leave all because of me.”

“But it’s alright because you’re here now!” Elise added happily. “Oh oh, Kamui Kamui! Maybe this guy can be your husband!”

Kamui nearly choked on air, something very uncharacteristic of her. “What? Elise, don’t be daft! We—I…” Silas interrupted her with a loud laugh.

“It could happen! I did have a huge crush on you when we were children!”

“Over my dead body!” Jakob shouted with an icy glare. Elise and Effie laughed at his protectiveness while Kamui awkwardly turned her gaze to a nearby dragonfly with flushed cheeks.

“Well, you certainly do seem like an adequate suitor for Lady Kamui,” Arthur added. “It would be delightful if you were to marry her!” Kamui shot him a look far worse than Jakob’s and he cowered. “Err, that is not to say that what I think matters in this situation, but ah…”

It had become all too clear that anything Arthur had to say would just be shot down by Kamui, something that Effie had much fun laughing at. Kamui cleared her throat and stood up from the tree stump she was sitting on, brushing herself off. “Now. Exactly how did you get here, Silas?”

Silas smiled awkwardly. “Well, you see…I heard from a couple of the guards around the castle that you would be going away for a bit, and after all these years of waiting, I suppose I was eager to see you. So I may or may not have abandoned by post to come running after you.”

Kamui gasped in shock. “Desertion?!” On instinct, she took a step towards Silas and raised her hand in the air, bringing it down quickly to slap him. She gasped again when she realized what she had done. “Gods! Forgive me, but desertion? Silas, are you a fool? Do you know what the punishment for that is? Execution the very moment that you are caught!”

“I know, I know! But look,” Silas responded, holding up a finger. “It’s not desertion if you really think about it. All I’m doing is transferring myself into the troops of another general, right? I’m still fighting for the Nohrian army!”

“Insubordination then! But Silas, I’m NOT a general! The only reason I’m here right now is because Father doesn't trust me and this is supposed to prove my loyalty. If I’m to prove my faithfulness to both him and my country, how do you think it reflects on me to be taking in a fugitive?”

Kamui did not look pleased, much to Silas’ dismay. He put his hand on his chin and thought for a moment before speaking. “My mistake, I figured you would have been official by this point. It’s going to be fine for you, though. I’ll make something up! A summons from a princess is a pretty good reason to have to leave your post, right? Besides, it’s not as if I was out fighting the good fight. I was only patrolling some parts of Windmire. It’s no big deal, I promise.”

The princess sighed and began rubbing her temples. Of course she was happy to see her childhood friend again, but the baggage that came with it might not have been worth it. “Alright, alright. Continue on this mission with me and we will sort this all out when we’re back at the castle.”

Silas gave a nod and Effie a wide grin. “Another member added on to our little band of soldiers, eh? Well, the more the merrier.”

“In most cases,” Jakob grumbled bitterly.

Kamui held a hand up to silence Jakob. She understood that he could be incredibly rude to those that were not herself, but she needed him to play nice for now. “Now. You already know Elise and Jakob. These are Arthur and Effie, Elise’s retainers. Father allowed them to accompany us on this mission.”

“A pleasure to meet you both,” Silas said with a quick but respectful bow. 

“On another note…” Kamui looked around the area with a grim expression. “I don’t know where to go from here. I was really only following one direction once we entered the forest to cut straight through, but that skirmish just now through me off course.”

Jakob smiled and straightened out his clothes. “Fear not, milady. I have made it my business to know every inch of our kingdom like the back of my hand. It would be my pleasure to guide us the rest of the way.”

With a sigh of relief, Kamui nodded at him as the rest of her party readied themselves for resuming their journey. “You never cease to amaze me, Jakob.”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

While Kamui was running around in wet marshes and fighting Faceless, her other half was tending to the wounded at Fort Jinya. At least, he was divvying up the workload of the Hoshidan troops that were actually tending to the wounded. As commander, that was his job. He wished that he could help them more directly, but that responsibility did not fall on his shoulders.

All around him, Hoshidan soldiers were restoring the damaged walls while the clerics healed wounded troops. They had been barely holding on since the previous day’s battle and many had been unable to carry on until additional help could arrive. Several bodies covered by white sheets had to be cleared out of the fort in order for the mending of the structure to be completed. 

After directing a group of about a dozen to tend to a crumbled wall, Corrin sighed in exhaustion. He was tired even after just giving orders. He turned to Azura at his left side and gave her an optimistic smile. “This is more work than I expected. Are you sure you can’t take over for a moment while I rest?”

Azura giggled at the comment. “That’s not my job, Corrin. You’ll have to get used to this, you know.”

“I’m aware,” Corrin groaned, slouching forward. “It’s difficult, though. It’s only my first day and I’m already falling apart.”

“You’re falling apart because it’s your first day. You’re going to be great, I know it.” Azura awkwardly pat his back in an attempt at encouragement, causing Corrin to look at her strangely. “That was a mistake. I will not do that again.”

“Thank you.”

The two were approached by two people dressed in attire that was distinctly Hoshidan. The busty woman was obviously a diviner while the rugged looking redhead with the steel face-mask was a ninja. They appeared to be uncomfortable approaching Corrin, as did Corrin himself.

“Hello!” The diviner greeted with a small smile. The look on her face was grim and Corrin figured that she was not in the mood to be friendly. “You’re Corrin, right? The new commander? Prince of Hoshido?”

“Ah, yes, that would be me.”

Azura gently tugged at Corrin’s cape. “These are Orochi and Saizo. Orochi was Mikoto’s retainer and Saizo is one of Ryoma’s. Speaking of which, where is Kagero?” she asked, looking around the area. “You two are usually together, Saizo. You as well, Orochi. She is your best friend, no?”

Orochi sighed and placed a hand on her chest. “Yes, I fear that that’s what we’re here to report.”

“Prince Ryoma and Prince Takumi have gone missing,” Saizo said grimly. “As has Kagero.”

Corrin gasped, somewhat in shock and somewhat in fear. He had only just become a part of the royal family and now both of his brothers had gone missing? “What? Oh Gods, no! Th-this is horrible! Ryoma has so much responsibility, and I have to make up with Takumi, and—”

“Peace, Corrin.” Azura said to him as he panicked. Her voice instantly soothed and calmed him, his heart slowing down. “Now. Where were they last seen?”

“On the path to Izumo, Lady Azura,” Orochi said in a sigh. “We think that Kagero went after them and was taken hostage by enemy forces along the way.”

“She pursued them alone? Oh, Kagero…“ Azura thought for a moment before turning to Corrin. “What will you have us do? You are the commander, after all.”

Corrin had nearly forgotten about his position; he was more focused on the fact that his brothers were missing. He was expected to come up with something to retrieve them? This was far too much responsibility for one boy, of course. “Ah…alright. This is fine, we’re fine. After we’re done here, we’ll send a search party led by myself to go after them. Everything’ll be fine.”

Saizo nodded, then turning his head to the sky. Down came Subaki on his white pegasus which gracefully landed without a single stumble. The man had a troubled expression on his face as Hana came running up behind him looking equally as worried.

“More bad news?” Corrin asked with a frown. “There’s only so much I can take.”

“Nohrians coming from the west side, commander!” Hana reported, standing tall and sturdy like a perfect soldier. “Not a large force, but enough to do some heavy damage if we don’t deal with them now!”  
“Yes, I would recommend snuffing out the flames before they have the opportunity to burn,” Subaki added.

Corrin gave a nod in confirmation and drew his Yato. “They’re attacking a makeshift hospital? Gods, how awful…Subaki, go tell Setsuna and Hinoka that they’re to stay by my side. Keep Azama and Sakura protected, of course. Oh, and make sure Kaze stays with Rinkah!”

“As you wish, commander.” Subaki took off not too high in the air, soaring through the area before touching down to relay the information he had been given.

Even though it was a mere ten minutes later, it felt as if an eternity had passed when the battle got going. Corrin was impressed with Setsuna’s precision and accuracy despite her apparent disinterest. Every arrow she fired hit its mark, much to his satisfaction.

As for Hinoka, he had seen her fight before, but now she seemed much more fierce. Perhaps it was because it was Nohrians she was fighting instead of mindless monsters. She flew around the field and swung her lance with incredible vigor, grunting with each slash and almost effortlessly avoiding the enemy’s attacks simply just by leaning one way on her pegasus. 

He was happy that the fight was going well, but…people were dying on both sides. The Hoshidan soldiers that were only here to help the wounded were falling one by one. Nohrian forces that were only following the orders of a corrupt king were also being cut down without a second thought. The sight of dozens of corpses around the field made Corrin sick.

Corrin was snapped out of his thoughts by Azura nudging him with her elbow. She looked up at him and smiled. “Here. I meant to give this to you before the battle began, but it must have slipped my mind.” She produced a small circular stone, similar to the one she had given Kamui, only this one possessed a blue hue as opposed to a green one. “It’s a dragonstone. You said that you and Kamui had the same powers, right? Use this to practice, though it might take awhile for you to get used to it.”

He took the stone in his hand and nodded. He was curious as to how Azura knew so much about dragons, but now was not the time for questions. He made a mental note to ask her about it later. “Thank you, Azura.”

“Commander!” Setsuna shouted. She shoved Corrin out of the way of an incoming axe and knocked him into Azura, both of them falling down. Her arrow poised at the head of the attacker, she readied herself to fire.

“No!” Corrin called, swinging his arm at her. Setsuna was knocked off balance and her arrow ended up piercing the man’s shoulder, causing him to scream loudly. She looked confused, but not angry. Corrin doubted that Setsuna could ever be angry.

“What’d you do that for?” she asked with a frown. 

“There’s no need to kill him when we can just disable him. We’re not animals, Setsuna,” he explained as he stood and took Azura’s hand to help her to her feet. 

Hinoka smiled at him, turning her lance around and using the blunt end to knock an archer unconscious. “Compassionate. I like that, but we are at war. We can’t save everyone.”

“I know,” Corrin said, biting his lip, “but we can do this with as little casualties as possible. No brutality, no maiming, no hostages. We’ll win this battle—and this war—while retaining our humanity. I promise that I will be as peaceful a leader as I can be.”

A small smile grew on Setsuna’s face. “That’s nice of you, Commander.”

“Setsuna, please. Just call me Corrin.”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

“Lady Sakura, I strongly recommend you reconsider,” Kaze said in an exhale. The frontline Hoshidan soldiers were gathered around in one of the less damaged structures of the fort. The Nohrian forces had been forced to retreat en masse, nearly all of them far too injured to fight. Corrin had called everyone here in order to hold an impromptu meeting discussing the disappearance of the other two princes and Kagero. “The battlefield near the border is extremely dangerous, and while I have no doubt that we can protect you, I—”

“I don’t care!” Sakura shouted, cutting Kaze off. “I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care! I’m not just going to stay idle while my brothers are in trouble! If there’s something that I can do to help, then I’m going to do it.”

Corrin grimaced. “Sakura, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to agree with Kaze. Look, we lost a princess and a queen two days ago and two princes today, but we can still get them back. If anything were to happen to you, Hoshido would be devastated. I would be devastated—we would all be.”

Tears began to well up in Sakura’s eyes and Azura cleared her throat. “Corrin, if I may. While it is true that most of us have lost a queen, princess, and a pair of princes, Sakura lost her mother. She lost her sister. Now that her brothers are missing, of course she would want to do what she could to help.”

“Please, Corrin,” Sakura pleaded while tightly gripping onto her brother’s cape. Corrin’s heart sank. He felt as if he was being guilt-tripped, but how was he supposed to say no?

Corrin nodded with a reluctant sigh. “Very well, you can come. But,” Sakura raised her head to look Corrin in the eye, “stay close to either me, Hinoka, or Kaze. If anything goes wrong, I’m confident enough that we can protect you.”

Hana crossed her arms and looked to Subaki. “Um, isn’t that our job?”

“Of course you two stay by her side as well. I just, ah…” Corrin had to stop himself from saying “I trust them more”, “know these two better. I apologize for not taking your jobs into consideration.”  


“Apology accepted,” Subaki responded with a smile.

Rinkah gestured towards the setting sun. “It’s getting late. We should make camp here for the night and move out tomorrow. If Corrin wishes it, of course.” Corrin was surprised at how quickly Rinkah had both mellowed out as well as accepted his position in the army. When they had first met, she was feisty and treated him with disdain, so he figured that she was showing him respect due to them now being on the same side.

“Naturally,” he started. “Moving out this late at night is an awful idea. Izumo isn’t exactly close and I’m sure we’re all exhausted. Azama?”

Azama stood and nodded, heading off to go inform the rest of the soldiers of the plan. For a moment, Corrin wondered how Kamui was doing. He quickly wiped the thought from his mind. She didn’t matter right now and hopefully wouldn’t for a while.

The thought returned later that night, however.

In his twenty years of living, Corrin had only ever had alcohol once. The occasion was a quiet little family dinner with King Garon and Elise’s mother before she passed. He was twelve at the time, making Elise eight. He couldn’t remember why, but Garon had asked him to take a sip of the wine and he of course obliged. It tasted rather good, but he threw up and had a major headache later on that night.  
Despite that experience, he was still willing to try Hoshidan alcohol and was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps it was because instead of sitting silently at the dinner table, he was around a campfire with friends and family, singing and telling jokes and stories. Kaze and Saizo had lived especially interesting lives, as did Rinkah. Corrin himself only told one or two humorous stories about his interactions with Nohrian guards, though. He did not want to talk too much about home.

“Home…” The word lingered on Corrin’s tongue as he laid down in his tent, staring up. It was quite spacious and comfortable, as expected of a tent made specifically for the commander of the army.  
Corrin thought of where his home was. His true home. Yes, he had been born in Hoshido and this is where his true family was—his bloodline—but he was raised in Nohr. Nohr was where his other siblings were, Camilla and Leo and the rest. Nohr was where Kamui was.

Kamui.

He turned over and closed his eyes, turning off the lantern by his side. He needed to sleep before he thought too much about this.

Kamui, Kamui, Kamui.

His twin sister. His other half. The one who had betrayed him. The one he had betrayed. Corrin shook his head and tried to expunge the thoughts from his mind. He should not have been thinking of her, for she was not here. He should be more concerned with retrieving his brothers, as they were what mattered. Yet…he couldn’t take his mind off of her.

The thought occurred to him that she was likely going to be leading her own army soon and he laughed. Here they were, a pair of twins leading two armies. His smile disappeared when he realized that he would have to fight her eventually. They were opposing armies, afterall. He did not want to fight her. He did not want to fight anyone. All Corrin wished for was for this damned war to be over and for both countries to coexist, but with the way Nohr ran things, there was no way for that to happen without a war. Corrin knew that and he hated it.

Because their land was barren and mostly infertile, Nohr had to import food and other resources from other countries while only exporting mined materials and weapons. At least, this was how things used to be. Once the kingdom had grown strong enough, they took over the nations that they had previously had a mutually beneficial relationship with. Even when they had assured resources, they continued on conquering and conquering, Hoshido being the only nation to give them any trouble.

Corrin’s heart began to race when he heard his tent flap zip open before zipping back closed. He knew it, sleeping alone was a terrible idea and he was about to be assassinated, but by who? Saizo did not seem to like him very much, so maybe it was him. Maybe a Nohrian had infiltrated the army and was planning on killing Corrin in his sleep. Maybe it was Kamui, back for revenge.

Not being able to take the anticipation, Corrin shot up, only to be silenced by a hand over his mouth. This was it, the end of his life. He had barely been in Hoshido for a few days and now he was going to die here. He closed his eyes and silently accepted his fate.

“Hiii, Corrin.”

Raising his eyebrow, Corrin opened one eye. He could make out the face even in the dark. It was not an assassin, but a clumsy archer. 

“Setsuna?” he asked, muffled. “What’re you doing here?”

Setsuna giggled and removed her hand from Corrin’s mouth, leaning forward and draping her arms around him. “I’m just here for a little…what did Azama say? Uh…clandestine visit. Yeah, that’s the word.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Corrin told her as he slowly scooted back, only managing to drag her along with him. “Can you put it in simpler terms?”

Even though her standard laugh wasn’t much different, Corrin could tell from her giggling and flushed visage that she was drunk. It was an odd experience seeing someone who acted so strangely while sober in a drunken state, so he wasn’t sure what to expect. He certainly did not expect her to suddenly kiss him, or for her to sit down on his lap, or for her to begin stripping off his clothes.

It took the boy a while for him to realize exactly what was happening. When he did, he panicked and shoved her off, though began to apologize at once. “Oh Gods! Sorry, sorry!”

Setsuna lightly laughed and hiccuped. “It’s fiiine, you don’t need to be. You’re just nervous, right?”

“Um,” Corrin bit his lip, his eyes darting from left to right. This had become a difficult situation. What was he to do? Kicking her out would be rude and he was not entirely sure if he should play along. “So you’re here to…?”

“Aw, come on. You liiike me, don’t you?” she asked with a smile. “I like you, too. I can go, though, if you don’t actually like me.” Setsuna frowned, staring at the ground. “I sometimes misinterpret things. I think that was the word Azama used.”

Corrin grimaced. He did like Setsuna, but according to Camilla, sex was only to come after marriage. The two certainly were not married, so that was the first issue. The second issue was that Corrin was not sure how he felt about the girl. She was very cute and her personality was endearing, but was that enough to justify a feeling of attraction? On top of that, they had only known each other for two days, and here she was wanting to have sex with him!

Though, the more Corrin looked at her, the more he liked her. He noticed the little things about her, like how she tapped her fingers on the ground or how her hair would end up covering both of her eyes and she would have to move it behind her ear. She would sometimes trail off in a mumble when she spoke or fiddle with her headdress when she was bored. Corrin appreciated her aloof personality and general absentmindedness. 

“I...I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to respond.” Corrin stood, scooting over closer to the girl. “I do like you, Setsuna. A lot. But we barely know each other. I—” Corrin bit his tongue. “I wouldn’t be opposed to starting a relationship with you, though. Maybe something more can come from that? But ah…sex is a bit much right now…”

Setsuna groaned, flopping down onto her back on the grass. “I’m sorry. I made our relationship weird. I’m so stupid.”

“No no no! You’re not stupid, Setsuna! Just…came on a bit strong. I don’t hate you or anything, but I’m just not sure if that’s something I’m ready for,” Corrin admitted. “I’ve been in Hoshido for only a little over a week. I’ve been sheltered my entire life, never had a girlfriend, and I’m not the best at social interactions.”

“That’s part of the reason why I came here, you know,” Setsuna mumbled. 

“Huh?”

“I want you to be comfortable here. I figured this was as good a way as any. Azama suggested making a cake, but I think this was a better idea.”

“Do you tell Azama everything?”

Setsuna shrugged. “I guess. But that combined with the fact that I like you made me reeeally want to do it. I guess the ale helped, too. I wouldn’t be confident enough without it.”

Corrin slightly smiled. Once again, Setsuna was being extremely endearing. “That’s admirable. Thank you for your consideration, but—” he cut himself off and sat down. “Are you sure? Have you any experience with it?”

Setsuna shook her head. “No, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Do you?” 

“From what my sister has told me, yes…” Corrin huffed and crossed his arms in a somewhat aggressive manner. “But I’m not with her anymore. This is a new life, right? New rules. I’m not in Nohr. To hell with it.”

“Huh?” Setsuna raised her eyebrows in confusion. “Wait, did you change your mind? That didn’t take much.”

Corrin stood and immediately grabbed Setsuna by her arm and pulled her forward so that she was sitting up straight, then leaning in closer to her and suddenly pressing their lips together. It was uncharacteristic of him to be so forceful or take initiative in anything, but he didn’t care. All he cared about was…well, he did not know not quite know what he cared about, but he did know that he wanted to do this.

And so, the two remained in each other’s embrace for the remainder of the night.


	6. Cold Winds

Kamui soon came to realize that everyone in the world knew who she was.

It was a surreal feeling, really. All her life she had been sheltered and hidden away from the public eye, only a few maids or concubines or noble visitors ever knowing of her existence. After the events of a few days ago, though, the world was bound to know her name.

The return of the Hoshidan Prince and Princess after eighteen years of absence. The sudden and tragic death of Queen Mikoto. The departure of the princess back to Nohr. It was world changing news that would likely shatter the political relationships between several countries, but Kamui did not concern herself with matters that did not directly involve her. 

Still, everyone knew who she was. Which meant that everyone know who Corrin was. Everyone knew what had happened at the border. People of both countries would inevitably take sides, whether it be hers or Corrin’s. She was glad that some people would agree with her decision, but also grimaced because she had begun to regret it.

Maybe…maybe Corrin was right? Maybe she should have stayed with Hoshido if he was so adamant about remaining with them. If she were to offer her aid to Hoshido, she wouldn’t be separated from her brother and perhaps Xander would have second thoughts about fighting both of them. All she achieved by supporting Nohr was balancing the scales of war and she was not sure if that was a good thing.

She took a deep breath and reminded herself of why she did not step away that day. She was not fighting against Hoshido, she was fighting for her family. It was apparent that Nohr was the aggressor in the war and it would surely come to an end were they to simply stop attacking, but that did not matter. This was war, and it would not be over until there was a victor.

At least, that was what her father had always said.

When they had neared the edge of the woods, they found the temperature rapidly dropping. Now a few miles out, the terrain was completely different. Frost stung Kamui’s rosy pink cheeks as she shivered her way through the thick snow that got under her armor and soaked its way past the thin fabric she wore under it. Elise was dressed even worse for the weather, chilled to the bone in her frilly dress.

“Brrr! It’s f-freezing!” the small princess said, her teeth chattering. 

Kamui stared at her breath in the air and frowned, rubbing her hands together for warmth. “Let me see if I can—” in an instant, her hands erupted in a burst of flames, startling her companions. She quickly flashed her hands to extinguish them, panting hard when the flames vanished and were replaced with smoke. “Sorry! I’m not used to this.” Focusing further and forcing her hands to steady through the cold, they ignited once more. This time around, the flames were much more controlled.

“Woah! You know magic now?” Silas asked in awe. “What, has your brother been teaching you?”

With a bashful smile, Kamui nodded. “Yes. I’m not very good at it at the moment, as I’m sure you can tell.”

“Are you guys really that cold?” Effie asked curiously. She was undoubtedly freezing in that chilled metal armor of hers, yet she seemed completely unphased. Kamui briefly wondered what would happen if she were to heat up the armor by pressing her hands onto it, but decided against it.

Icicles were practically forming on the hairs of Arthur’s nose, yet his heroic grin did not fade. “H-hah! This cold shall not hold us back! We will—”

“Arthur, please stop talking,” Kamui requested as she stepped closer to her little sister and held her hands close to warm her up. Elise smiled in that adorable way she always did and said thank you.  
Ever since Elise was born, she had always been much closer to Corrin. He was the more fun twin and would often play with her while Kamui studied or stayed with Silas, despite how much he requested that the four of them play together. Now that Corrin was gone, Elise seemed to be growing more attached to her sister instead.

Suddenly, the speed of the wind increased greatly, the sound hollowing in everyone’s ears. With the increased wind came even less visibility as the snow flew passed their eyes, leaving them only able to see white.

“Lady Kamui!” Jakob shouted, concerned. “Are you alright? Where are you?” 

“I’m fine, Jakob!” Kamui responded, but her voice was drowned out by the haunting howl of the wind. Silas stuck close by, squinting in order to better focus his vision. Extinguishing her hands, Kamui threw her arms around Elise and hugged her. They had to stay close together, for she had already lost track of Jakob, Arthur, and Effie.

“Damn!” Silas exclaimed as he squinted in a futile attempt to see through the snow. “I can’t see! The snow’s picked up!”

“Kamui!” Elise cried.

Kamui hoped that her being a dragon didn’t make her cold blooded. She wasn’t used to extremely cold weather so she couldn’t say for sure, but she felt especially chilled at the moment, as if her own blood was slowly freezing. Her vision began to fade to black and her legs grew wobbly. Extremely dizzy, she tried to hang on tightly to Elise, but her arms refused to do her bidding and she fell back into the snow, her consciousness slipping away.

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Corrin was filled with regret. 

Yes, regret. That was the word. As Setsuna hugged his arm and walked alongside him, regret was the only thing on his mind.

Despite the fact that he enjoyed himself and had made Setsuna very happy the previous night, he grew increasingly nervous with every odd look that came his way. Azama obviously wasn’t oblivious to what had occurred and Corrin wondered if he would tell everyone. How would Hinoka react if she found out? How would the army’s perception of him change? Would he be seen as impulsive? He could always just blame it on the alcohol, but how would that make Setsuna feel? 

He looked down at her and couldn’t help but mimic her satisfied smile. She seemed perfectly content walking by his side. This couldn’t be love, could it? There was definitely some romantic attraction there, but love seemed like a stretch. He did enjoy Setsuna’s company quite a bit, though, but they had only just met.

“Hey,” Setsuna suddenly spoke, startling Corrin slightly. She had been silent the entire march save for the occasional hum or sigh. “You haven’t said anything in awhile. Are you okay?”

“Well, neither have you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t talk a lot. Are we together, Corrin?”

Corrin was thrown off guard by her sudden question. The answer seemed obvious to him. “Well, yes, I suppose. After what happened last night—”

“Don’t let that make you think that you like, have to do anything. It could just be a fun thing we did if you want it to be,” she told him. She talked in a sad tone but her expression remained as neutral as ever.

“No no, I want to. Let's take things slow, yes? Afterall, I’m your superior.” Corrin quickly realized what he just said and bit his tongue. “Not to say that I’m superior to you! Just in terms of rank among the army, some might find it inappropriate.”

Setsuna giggled, pressing her cheek into Corrin’s arm. “I don’t care what they think, Corrin. You shouldn’t, either.”

Despite the fact that the two barely knew each other, they were already in a relationship and Corrin found himself deriving pleasure from it. Maybe they’d get married, just like Kamui had always wanted.

Corrin grimaced at the thought, but had no time to lament over his sister when Saizo put his arm in front of him. Next to him, Kaze gestured ahead. The army was walking up an extremely long set of stairs that wound up the mountain and was dubbed the Eternal Stairway, said to have well over a thousand steps to it. Uphill stood several Faceless, standing and staring at them motionlessly. 

Sighing, the prince drew his Yato and gestured to Kaze. “Everyone else stand back,” he said as he stepped forward, Setsuna releasing him. “There aren’t many. Kaze and I will handle it.”

“Be careful!” Hana called as the two ascended the stairs.

Corrin had figured that Kaze exclusively using shurikens would be a hindrance, but he had proved that he was proficient in his craft. Felicia and Jakob were the same, after all. Three shurikens sent a Faceless tumbling over the staircase, two more to the neck killing another. That one fell backwards, remaining on the stairs and sliding down them.

Corrin charged forward and stuck his sword through one, then drawing his arm to the side. It did not cut through the Faceless, instead only forcing it off of the staircase. It slipped off of the blade and fell off the side of the mountain below. 

As Kaze and Corrin continued to dispose of the Faceless, Orochi squinted. She could tell that something was wrong. These Faceless weren’t like normal beasts, no. She had not come face to face with more than a few, but even Orochi knew that they were savage and relentless creatures that burst into smoke upon death. But these monsters were defensive, and the lone corpse was not showing any sign of disappearing.

It dawned upon Orochi’s mind that these were not Faceless at all. Years of divinity had honed her senses and ability to sense the dark arts. She called out in horror. “Corrin, Kaze, stop! They aren’t Faceless!” 

“What?” Corrin asked as he turned around, only to be hit in the head with a large fist. He would have gone falling off the staircase if it were not for Subaki reaching out and grabbing his hand. 

Closing her eyes and clapping her hands together, Orochi muttered a simple incantation meant to dispel illusions. The forms of the Faceless began to dissolve to black smoke, leaving human bodies in their place.

Sakura screamed and Hana shielded her eyes. Corrin could only stare down, his mouth agape in shock. The man who had hit him previously glared at them with ferocity in his eyes before falling forward and tumbling down the stairs, succumbing to his wounds from the Yato’s blade.

“What is this?!” Saizo asked angrily. “What kind of magic?”

“Illusion magic,” Orochi answered with a shake of her head. “Practiced primarily by Nohrian sorcerers and in some areas of Helheim. It doesn’t work long distance, so that must mean…”

Corrin turned around with a furious expression on his face. He had been forced to kill innocents when he promised to be a benevolent leader. He knew immediately who had done this. “IAGO!”

Farther down the stairs and in a swirl of dark fog manifested the masked sorcerer that Corrin had once known. The man smiled and placed his hand under his chin. “Ah, so quick to figure it out! I suppose you aren’t that much more foolish than your sister.”

“What have you done? How DARE you?” A path was cleared as Corrin stomped down the staircase to come face to face with Iago, who remained smiling. “Do you see what you’ve done here?!”

Iago placed a hand on his chest. “Me? Why, I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who has struck down these poor tribesmen.”

“You snake!” Corrin shouted. “You vile, wretched, cowardly snake!”

Saizo stepped forward and brandished the blade on his arm. “I should cut you down where you stand!”

“Ah, but I’m afraid you won’t get the chance!” Iago laughed as he raised his arm in the air and took a good look at the soldiers before him. “Certainly a better group than the princess has acquired. Tata, now.” He flourished his arm and with that, he disappeared. 

Azura grimaced, staring at the corpse before her. “The route ahead takes us through Wind Tribe territory. Judging by the attire, this man was one of them. This will be difficult to explain.”

“C-Corrin, who was that?” Sakura asked, holding on tightly to Hana’s arm. “You know him?”

“Iago, King Garon’s right hand man. I was not aware that he was capable of magic like this. Illusions affecting so many as well as long distance warping…” Corrin sighed, starting up the stairs once again. “How cruel. Innocents suddenly attacked by soldiers for no reason. Thank you for letting us know what we were doing, Orochi.”

Orochi gave a sigh of guilt, rubbing her arm whilst looking at the dirt ground. “If only I had done it sooner.”

With no other option, the Hoshidan soldiers remorsefully pressed on. Eventually they arrived at the end of the Eternal Stairway and came faced with two members of the Wind Tribe, both of whom appeared to be rather angry.

“You there!” One of the men called. “We sent men down to guide your party the rest of the way, but you have taken much longer than expected and none of them are currently present. You’ve killed them, haven’t you?”

Corrin winced at the accusation. He didn’t want to respond, but he knew that he had to as the commander. The truth was always the best path, afterall. “Unfortunately, yes, and I apologize. There is a good explanation, but—”

“A good explanation? For murder?” The other man scowled. “And what could that possibly be?”

“A sorcerer from Nohr. He used illusion magic in order to make your men appear to us as monsters. I am deeply sorry for what happened,” Corrin said as he grit his teeth in guilt. “My…my name is Prince Corrin. The people with me are some of the best soldiers in the Hoshidan army. We only wish to pass through and make it to Izumo, where my brothers are likely being held. They’ve disappeared, you see.”

The men looked passed Corrin and locked their eyes on Sakura, then to Azura. “Lady Sakura…Lady Azura…wait. Prince Corrin? The one from Nohr?”

Apparently word of his existence had spread fast. “Yes. I suppose I’m the new commander of the Hoshidan army.”

The two men looked at each other in a brief silent discussion. “This could be a trap,” one of them said. “If we are to believe his claims about the illusion magic, then who’s to say that isn’t what we’re experiencing right now?”

Corrin nervously began to fiddle with his dragonstone. What if they did not believe him and had him and his army executed? What if they did believe him but still turned them back? What if they attacked suddenly and everyone died? There were so many possibilities that it made him anxious. His nerves were calmed by Setsuna taking his hand and smiling up at him. He let out a sigh of relief, waiting in anticipation for an answer from the tribesmen.

After what felt like eons, the men turned to face them and nodded. “We have come to a decision based on our own values and traditions. If your army is to defeat ours, then you will earn an audience with Chief Fuga. That will give you a chance to defend your actions.”

Corrin beamed with joy until he saw Kaze’s expression, which reminded him of the fact that he now had to fight. “Wait, defeat yours? We’re going to fight? Why?”

“Our tribe values strength above all else while also maintaining peace. You will earn your place by combat. Is that acceptable?”

Orochi sighed and rolled her eyes. “We’ve come all this way and the only alternative is to retreat, so we don’t have any other choice now do we? Corrin?”

“Of course,” Corrin responded. “There’s no turning back now. I would gladly fight against your tribe.”

As one of the men started back towards the rest of the tribe, the other nodded with a smile. “Excellent. I’m sure this will be a battle worth remembering.”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Kamui awoke to something she was getting sick of: the cold. She wasn’t shivering, but it was still so damn cold. She wanted to reignite her hands and rub them all over her body to heat herself up, but that would be unbefitting of a princess. For now, all she could do was bundle herself in the warm bed sheets atop her body.

Wait...bed sheets?

The princess opened her eyes and sat up, reaching for a sword that was not there. There was no need to panic, however, for her Yato was leaning up against the wall of the small room that she was in. She didn’t know where she was. She was alone and couldn’t hear anyway outside of the room, which concerned her. Where was she?

Her heart started racing and a million questions ran through her head. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and touched her feet to the crowd, crying out when her soles made contact with the icy floor. She cried out again when the bedsheets fell from her shoulders and she realized that she was practically naked, only donning the thin bodysuit she wore beneath her armor. Looking to her left, she found said armor neatly arranged on a side table. 

Kamui wasn’t sure what this room was supposed to be in the first place. The walls and floor appeared to made completely of packed ice and snow. Maybe she had died and this was Hell—not hot and fiery, but cold and icy. 

At her bedside, Kamui thankfully found her boots, white and well insulated. She usually went barefoot indoors, but that was impractical for traversing the bog of the Forlorn Forest or the snowy terrain of Niflheim, the district in which the Ice Tribe resided. She put her boots on and then her armor, which was connected with stretchable material between the segments. 

Still shivering, Kamui stepped towards the simple wooden door with a copper knob and listened for anything, only managing to hear the howling of the wind. After a few moments, she heard the sound of a woman’s voice and jumped back. The princess took her Yato in hand and assumed a fighting stance, her focus fully on the door. She focused intently on the knob and drew her arm back in preparation to strike when she saw it begin to turn.

“Kamui…” the girl muttered as she opened the door, quickly turning around and closing it behind her. Kamui of course recognized her, but she wasn’t used to seeing her without a maid’s outfit on. Now, she donned traditional Ice Tribe attire fitting for her rank, a small yet flowing white dress and insulated shoes.

Kamui dropped her sword. A sudden feeling of joy washed over her and she threw herself at the girl. “Flora!”

After the attack on Hoshido, Flora had abandoned her position and fled the castle. Kamui now knew that she had returned to her original home, Niflheim. She was incredibly happy to see a familiar face, for it meant that she was safe. Sure, the two had never gotten along, but that was all Kamui’s fault and she knew it.

When Flora first arrived at the fortress when they were still children, Kamui was completely infatuated with this mysterious new girl. In fact, Flora was her first real crush. Kamui had told her this almost immediately and was quickly rejected, Flora stating that she was there to do her job and nothing more. Kamui’s resentment for the maid had carried over year after year to the point where she still disliked her long after she had gotten over her rejection. None of that mattered now, though. 

Flora smiled and hugged her back. “Hello, Kamui. It’s good to see you again. You must be freezing in that armor of yours.”

“I am, but that’s fine!” Kamui said happily and stepped back, breathing hard. The air was thin here. “Where are we? We’re in the Ice Tribe, yes? You wouldn’t be here if we weren’t. Where’s everyone else? What happened to Silas? Is everyone alright?”

Flora put her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. Her smile disappeared in an instant and was replaced with a deadly serious expression. “Please, Kamui, I need you to listen to me. You CANNOT let anyone here know who you are, alright? If you do, they will kill you, or even worse. I’d do everything in my power to try and stop them, but you have to play along.”

“Kill me?” Kamui thinned her eyes. “Why would they kill me?”

“You’re the princess of Nohr,” the blue haired girl reminded her. “Nohr and my tribe are not exactly on the best of terms. Look, you know that you’re not Garon’s blood daughter, yes? I presume you’re now aware of that considering recent events.” Kamui nodded. “Right, you were kidnapped from Hoshido. Well guess what? I was, too.”

Kamui’s expression was a mixture of shock and confusion. “What? You were kidnapped from Hoshido? No, Nohr.”

“I was taken from the Ice Tribe, Kamui.” Flora grimaced and pulled at the sleeves of her coat. “When I was a child, before I arrived at the Northern Fortress. My tribe was planning a revolt against Nohr, and to prevent that from coming to fruition, Garon took Felicia and I captive. Two of the chieftain's daughters.”

“You weren’t there of your own volition? But you said that you were whenever I would ask.” 

“Tch. Of course not. I would never serve your father of my own will. Felicia doesn’t know this; she still thinks that our father sent us to you as some sort of peace offering.” A clear vein of irritation appeared on Flora’s forehead, making it anger obvious. “I’m letting you know right now that I hate Garon and I hate Nohr. I’m only doing this to protect you, and only telling you this so that you’ll trust me. I did abandon my position as Corrin’s retainer, after all.”

Kamui sighed, not wanting to think about her brother as usual. “Oh, Flora. You don’t have to do anything to make me trust you. I’ve known you for almost as long as I can remember.”

Waving the comment off, Flora looked back at the door and took a moment to peek out. Kamui was slightly hurt by this, but could tell that she was not in the mood for sentimentalities. “Yes, yes. Now, remember. You’re not Princess Kamui of Nohr, but just a former knight who I used to know. Got it?”

After receiving a nod of confirmation from Kamui, Flora opened the door and stepped out with the princess in tow. “Ah, here.” Flora placed her palm on Kamui’s cheek and closed her eyes. Kamui’s face turned a bright pink in response. Then, she realized that she suddenly wasn’t cold anymore.

“How did you—”

“It’s in my blood, magic.”

“Then why do you wear those boots?”

Flora shrugged and muttered something along the lines of “tradition” before pressing on. Immediately, Kamui could tell that she was no longer in the vast and barren plains of ice and snow that she had traveled through before. The snow on the ground was much less thick and the area was filled with beautiful homes of ice and packed snow, a select few being made of stone. One in particular was a large manor that was probably the chieftain’s. Gorgeous ice sculptures decorated the land, depicting warriors and chiefs from the clans’ history. For a people so disconnected from the rest of civilization, Kamui was surprised at how lavish the Ice Tribe seemed to be.

“Kamui!”

Turning to her left, Kamui widely grinned as she watched Silas and Elise running towards her. She hugged both of them with each arm, the three of them laughing with each other.

“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Elise said with glee. “I thought you would like, freeze to death! After we lost you and Silas, we didn’t know what to do! But Flora’s friends were out hunting and found you!”

Kamui wondered what beast could possibly survive in the harsh cold of Niflheim but decided to save the question for later. “Where are Effie, Jakob, and Arthur?” she asked.

“They’re socializing with the locals,” Silas responded. “I couldn’t imagine living here. Everything’s so…white. And snowy.”

“And Nohr is all black and rainy, right.” With a relieved sigh, Kamui looked back at Flora. “So, what’s next? Am I to meet your chieftain and talk to him?”

Flora gestured behind her to guide Kamui’s eyes to the approaching men. They were arranged in a triangle, the one in the center clearly being the most important. He wore a peculiar looking set of armor that exposed the majority of his abdomen, though Kamui figured that she wasn’t one to judge armor with obvious weak points. His silver headpiece was somewhat of a mixture between helmet and crown that kept his blue hair pulled back. He smiled as he approached.

“Hello, traveller. My name is Kilma, the chieftain of this tribe. Flora here has told me that she knows you, but may you introduce yourself?” he asked. He spoke not like a leader, but like someone of equal status to Kamui. 

Kamui cleared her throat. “A pleasure to meet you. My name is ah…Lilith. I’m a knight.”

“And you knew my daughters, yes, yes. That would mean that you spent a significant amount of time in the place where they were captive. Tell me, have you seen the Nohrian prince and princess that recently made themselves known? To think that they managed to live in obscurity for so long.”

Kamui grimaced and could even feel Silas and Elise growing nervous. “Yes, I did know them. Do know them. We didn’t talk much,” she replied, pressing her lips together. “Don’t talk much.”

“Do you know the status of the girl? What’s her name, Kamui?” Kilma inquired. “She remained with the Nohrians, yes?” He said the word as if he was swearing in front of a child.

Shaking her head, Kamui bit her tongue. “All I know is that she is still in the royal castle. I do not know what her plans are. Ah…” Wanting to change the subject, Kamui took both Silas and Elise’s hands. “This is Silas, my friend. He’s also a knight. And this is Elise, my sister.”

“Elise? Like the princess?”

“No correlation,” Elise said quickly, then zipping her mouth shut. She was concerned about letting something slip like she had so many times before, mainly about Kamui and Corrin’s existence.  
Silas knelt down in respect. “Thank you so much for allowing us to rest in your village. Without you, we would have frozen to death in the tundra.”

With a chuckle, Kilma raised his hand to his chin “Well, I usually do not allow outsiders in, but that sword of hers,” he gestured to the Yato, “intrigued me. It is one of the Yato blades, is it not? It is quite beautiful.”

Blushing, Kamui’s hand subconsciously went to the hilt of the blade. “Ah, yes. Yes it is.”

Flora cursed under her breath and Kilma’s smile began to waver. “They say that those who carry the blade is meant to save the world. I couldn’t simply just abandon you when I learned of what you were carrying. Tell me, just how did you come across that sword?”

Kamui opened her mouth to speak but stopped when Silas squeezed her hand. She couldn’t tell him the truth, no. That would give them all away in a heartbeat. “I ah…earned it. Yes, I earned it. From a duel.”

“Was that duel against one of the twin Nohrian royals?” Kilma asked, his expression now neutral. “Because everyone knows that the blades appeared to them after the death of Queen Mikoto.”

Flora stepped forward with her hands on her chest. “Father, I—”

Kilma raised her hand to interrupt her and turned to his men. “Inform everyone that we must prepare for battle,” he said calmly. “We have been infiltrated by Nohrians.”

“Father!”

“Silence, Flora. You lied to me and betrayed my trust. You will be punished after the battle’s end.” 

As Kilma marched away, Flora began to breathe heavily. “Oh no, no no no no no! This is bad, really bad!” She turned around and put her hands on Kamui’s shoulders, shaking her head in a panic. “You have to gather your friends and run, just run. Get out of here, alright? I know that you’re strong, but our forces are stronger. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Ah…” Kamui bit her lip. She didn’t know what to do at all. She was here to suppress the Ice Tribe’s rebellion and was sure that she would have no problem doing so if it was not for Flora. Now, she had someone to worry about.

Silas nodded to Flora and ran off to retrieve the other three as Elise held tightly to Kamui’s arm. “Oh, this is bad…” she mumbled. “Kamui, what are we gonna do?”

“I…we can’t take them on by ourselves, but we can’t run away either,” Kamui responded, biting her tongue. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. She wasn’t sure if it would work, but she had no other choice. “We’re not moving,” she said firmly, much to her sister’s surprise.

“Not moving? But what are we going to do? We shouldn’t fight them!” Elise protested. Kamui rested her hand on Elise’s head to reassure her.

“It’ll be fine, Elise. I promise.”

Not two minutes later, several dozen Ice Tribe warriors approached in full armor, Kilma leading the pack. He spoke loudly and clearly as Silas returned with Jakob, Effie, and Arthur. “Princess Kamui of Nohr! You and your people have infiltrated our home with malintent, and for that, you must pay with your life!”

“Peace, please,” Kamui requested, holding her hands up. She shooed Elise away and directed her towards the sides of her retainer. “Chieftain Kilma, I challenge you and you alone to a duel.” 

As Kilma raised his eyebrows in interest, murmurs started throughout his men. Flora balled her fists and shook her head in disappointment. Kamui’s companions looked incredibly worried, all except for Jakob, who smiled in relief.

Jakob knew his liege’s strengths and weaknesses. While Corrin was exceptionally good at strategy and communication, Kamui excelled in holding her own in a one on one fight. There was no possible way that their miniscule band of soldiers would be able to defeat a full blown army unit, but Kamui had the advantage in a duel. 

“Interesting. A Nohrian would request to fight honourably?” Kilma asked, amused. “I’m listening. What are your conditions?”

Kamui smiled. She was getting to him. “You and I alone with absolutely no outside interference from a member of either of our sides. It will not be a duel to the death. It will be a duel to surrender. If I win, you and your tribe must cease all acts of rebellion at once and keep it that way. If you win, then you may do what you please with me, but not my companions.”

“So if I am to win, I only get you, but if you win, it affects my entire tribe? I know you’re Nohrian, but that does not seem very fair.”

“You didn’t let me finish,” Kamui said. “If you win, you also get my sword. You get the Yato.”

“Kamui!” Jakob called. Elise gasped and Effie grimaced. This was a large risk and Kamui knew it, but she had to get Kilma to agree to the duel, she just had to.

Pondering the offer, Kilma stood idly in thought for several moments before nodding. He gave a signal for his troops to fall back and then stepped forward. “Fine then, I accept your challenge, Princess.” He produced a large red tome from his clothes and flipped it open, beginning to read.

Kamui quickly turned to her party and waved them away. “Give me room,” she told them. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Don’t worry about me.”

“Lady Kamui…” Arthur bit his lip, concerned. He was confident in Kamui’s combat abilities, but could she really take on the chieftain one on one?

“Flora,” Kilma said flatly, looking up from the tome to lock eyes with his daughter. She understood immediately stepped forward with a melancholy expression, mumbling something to herself.  
“…The combatants may begin.” 

The field was now clear and set for the fight. Kilma made the first move, the pages of his tome turning rapidly as the chill wind rushed around him before a blast of sleet was shot towards Kamui. She sprung out of the way and rolled on the icy grass, then rushing towards Kilma.

The chieftain stopped her in her tracks by manifesting an icicle in the ground. Kamui tripped over the object and fell face first into the frozen dirt. She didn’t let the pain get to her and backed away, avoiding being pierced by an icicle that erupted from the ground. Another one appeared as she backed away further. As she rose to her feet, sharp ice spikes sprouted all around her and controlled where she could and could not go. 

Taking a glance at the ground for a split second, Kamui’s tactical mind realized what he was doing. He had made a wall of spikes behind her and was attempting to corner her to force a surrender, but she wouldn’t let that happen.

Recalling everything Leo had taught her, Kamui exhaled hot air and mustered up all of her strength. Making a throwing motion with her hand, she conjured up a fireball and sent it crashing into the spikes behind her. They all either melted or shattered, being destroyed either way. 

Kilma gasped. He had not anticipated Kamui’s use of magic, especially not fire. Sneering, he shot off several more icy blasts towards Kamui. She deftly jumped out of the way of them all, then conjuring another fireball in her hands. She tossed it directly at Kilma, who raised a wall of ice to protect himself. The wall shattered upon the fireball impacting it, but the fire also dissipated.

This is the most I can do without a tome, Kamui thought to herself. I can’t use up all of my energy. The princess stopped running and slowed to a walk, Kilma staring at her intently. He held his hand out, icy mist radiating from it. Kamui’s ears twitched; he was going to strike at any moment. 

The chieftain clenched his fingers and turned his fist. The snow at Kamui’s feet spiraled up her leg before hardening into dense ice, trapping her in place. Kamui shuddered at the incredibly cold sensation and attempted to free herself, but to no avail. The snow on the ground crunched as Kilma walked towards her.

Kamui did not panic, no, she wouldn’t do that. She took a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes to assess the situation. _I can’t use magic when I’m constricted like this, and I can’t use proper sword strikes that he won’t easily dodge. So that means…___

_ _The moment Kilma was in range, Kamui made her move. Her left arm immediately became covered in plated scales and her middle finger extended into a sharp point, reaching far enough to pierce Kilma’s shoulder. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground as Kamui’s body returned to normal, the ice around her leg shattering as a result of Kilma losing focus. _ _

_ _Before he could get up, Kamui pressed her foot down on his chest and looked him in his eyes, hers of scarlet red burning with satisfaction. The chieftain grimaced and looked away, letting his tome fall loosely from his hand. _ _

_ _“I…surrender.”_ _

_ _Jakob let out a sigh of relief as Silas shouted “yes!”, Elise cheering and clapping. Pleased with her victory, Kamui took Kilma’s hand and pulled him to his feet. She gave a respectful smile before sheathing her sword._ _

_ _“My sister Elise specializes in healing. Your shoulder—”_ _

_ _“We have our own healers,” Kilma spat, clutching his shoulder. It was clear that he still held contempt for the princess._ _

_ _Kamui frowned. “Now, if I may request of you, please put a stop to your plans of rebellion. I assure you that continuing this will only harm your people. Once I have the power, I will do everything I can to free your tribe from my Father. I know he can be cruel, and I know that his treatment of you has been less than ideal.”_ _

_ _Kilma’s expression softened. “You intend to help us?”_ _

_ _“Of course. I wouldn’t let this cruel treatment continue. Not…not all Nohrians are bad, you know.”_ _

_ _He looked to his daughter, who had her hands clasped together in relief. “Flora. What do you think of this girl?”_ _

_ _Kamui’s eyes met Flora’s, though both quickly looked away. Flora knew that she would have to speak, and she had already lied to her father enough. “Kamui…is a good person, Father. She’s never been the most sensitive or warm, but she knows what she wants and doesn’t stop until it’s hers. We might have not gotten along, but that’s besides the point. If she says she’ll help us, then she will. That much I know.”_ _

_ _The princess was grateful that she was far enough away from everyone else that no one could see her face. She was blushing red and her heart was racing from Flora’s kind words. She wanted to kiss her right then and there, but Kamui knew she had to hold herself back. Instead, she cleared her throat and turned back to Kilma, who nodded as he held his shoulder._ _

_ _“Very well. My people and I will remain complicit for now, but I expect you to uphold your promise, princess.” He held his hand out towards Kamui, who shook it respectfully._ _

_ _As Kilma walked away, Kamui turned around only to have Flora pull her into a hug. The blue haired girl’s forehead was pressed into Corrin’s neck as she shuddered. Kamui stood paralyzed for a moment before hugging her back. _ _

_ _“Gods,” Flora muttered. “Don’t do anything stupid like that again, please.”_ _

_ _Kamui chuckled as they broke the hug. “I didn’t want to put your entire tribe in danger, Flora. A duel was the best I could ask for. Are you…are you staying here?”_ _

_ _Flora nodded. “Yes. There’s no way I could return to Windmire, or anywhere near Nohr, really. Staying in Niflheim is my best bet.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled. “So, I guess this is goodbye again?”_ _

_ _“You say that as if you said goodbye the first time you left.” The two girls laughed together in joy, wide smiles on their faces. _ _

_ _“Ah…goodbye, Flora. Until we meet again?”_ _

_ _“Until then, farewell.”_ _

_ _Kamui felt the urge to kiss Flora right on her forehead, but had to maintain her regal manner. She turned around and stood up straight, walking away with her party behind her and forcing herself not to look back._ _

_ _\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------_ _

_ _After a hard fought battle, Corrin and his fighters had finally earned the right to speak to Fuga, the chief of the Wind Tribe. Its warriors were much stronger than the prince had anticipated, but he supposed that he should not have been surprised. After all, combat was how they settled disputes among themselves, it only made sense that they were well trained. It was especially difficult considering the harsh winds that this altitude brought, but the Hoshidan army had held strong, even if Subaki and Hinoka had gotten blown away with their pegasi a few times. _ _

_ _The chief resided in a large tent on a stable shelf of the mountain. He had already been informed of the day’s events by one of his men and set with his eyes closed and his legs crossed on a mat before the entrance. Corrin had been the only one permitted to enter, and did so silently. Fuga seemed to notice his presence even without him uttering a word. He turned around and nodded at the commander._ _

_ _“Well done. Corrin, is it? Yes, I have heard your story. It is an interesting one,” he said. He was a bald man and wore very little, aside from traditional Wind Tribe garbs. “Now, explain to me exactly why I have been told that you killed a number of my men.”_ _

_ _The prince forced himself to remain calm. He would normally panic under these circumstances, but he had to keep a cool demeanor in front of someone of a higher status than him. That is what Xander had always told him. “Yes, thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain myself. We were under a sort of spell, you see, from a Nohrian sorcerer. He made your men appear to mine as monsters, so naturally we attacked. We were only able to realize what we were doing because one of my companions is skilled in divination, but by that time, it was too late. You have my most sincere apologies, chief Fuga.”_ _

_ _All while Corrin spoke, Fuga’s gaze was locked on to the sword at his side. “I see…you are pardoned. That sword, it is the Yato, yes?” A smile appeared on Fuga’s face. “So, the story is true. Your father and I were friends before his passing, you see. I learned a great deal about that blade from him.”_ _

_ _“You knew my father…and you also know of my weapon?”_ _

_ _“That sword has the potential to become the Fire Emblem, you know. Its wielder possesses great power and is destined to save the world, but can also end it. You are aware of this, yes?”_ _

_ _Pursing his lips together, Corrin gave a tentative nod. Of course he had done research on the blade the moment he had free time back in Castle Shirasagi. It was an extremely important item that had been bestowed upon him by some miracle, so he wanted to know all about it. _ _

_ _Fuga smiled and looked warmly on the prince. “Good. It is relieving to know that one of the Yatos is in good hands. As for the other…” he sighed. “Never mind that. You may continue on towards your destination. I wish you well on your journey.”_ _

_ _With a bow, Corrin smiled. “Thank you, chieftain Fuga.” The prince turned around and ducked out of the tent, only to turn to his side when he noticed another presence. “Ah, Azura. Can I ask you—wah!” He was startled and flailed around for a moment before pulling himself together. Before him was a short boy with red hair that fell down to his neck. He was wearing thin clothing fitting for a member of the Wind Tribe. Along with that, he had his fists on his hips and had an expression that radiated both annoyance and determination._ _

_ _“Ah…hello,” Corrin said politely. He did not pick up that the boy had been waiting for him to exit the tent and gave a small wave before continuing on. The boy loudly cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “My apologies, but may I help you?”_ _

_ _“I’ll be joining you now,” the boy said bluntly. “As one of your soldiers. My name is Hayato, the best mage in the tribe.”_ _

_ _Corrin was immediately confused. “Joining us? I’m sorry, but this isn’t really that kind of army. See, my men are all already apart of the Hoshidan military, or at least closely related to them. You can’t just opt in to fight with us. My apologies, little one.”_ _

_ _Hayato grit his teeth in anger. “Hey, I’m not a child! I’m almost your age! And I’m not opting in, the chieftain himself has assigned me to this position!”_ _

_ _“Fuga?”_ _

_ _“Yes, Fuga!” Hayato sighed and gave a shake of his head. “Listen, if you’re going to be the commander of the army I have to fight in, I hope you’re not always this dense. Chief Fuga says that it’s time for me to head out and see the world, even fight for a cause. So just consider me one of your own from now on.”_ _

_ _Corrin’s first thought was to consult Azura, or maybe Kaze. They seemed to be the most levelheaded of his army, so they would know what to do. _ _

_ _“Look, let me just talk to my—”_ _

_ _“There’s no need,” Hayato respondly abruptly. “I won’t be a bother. Just another soldier among your ranks. It’s not much of a hassle, really. We’re not technically a part of Hoshido, meaning I’m not Hoshidan, meaning you won’t have to do any paperwork, right? No work at all.”_ _

_ _“That’s not the point. Joining an army isn’t just a small thing you do, it’s a commitment. You—”_ _

_ _Hayato interrupted once again. “Look, what do you want from me, huh? You’re making this harder than it has to be.”_ _

_ _Corrin winced. Even though he was being scolded by what appeared to be a child, he was still intimidated. _ _

_ _“My apologies!” he said in a second. “Ok, you can join us. We’re heading out right now, so make sure you have everything in order, alright?”_ _

_ _With a triumphant grin, Hayato produced a large tome from under his clothes and patted it twice. “I’ve got everything I need right here. Now, let’s go meet the rest of your soldiers, shall we?”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a bit on the shorter side, but hey, the story progresses nevertheless. As always, kudos, comments and what-not are appreciated more than you think. Have a good one, everyone!


	7. A Time for Rest

The instant she was back in her room, Kamui stripped down and jumped straight into her bed. 

The princess was exhausted after days of trekking through extreme weather as well as the fiasco with the Ice Tribe. It warmed her heart knowing that Flora was safe, but chilled it knowing that they would not see each other again for quite some time. Kamui groaned into her pillow in frustration.

Her bed was the most appealing thing in the world to her at that moment. After the freezing winds of Niflheim and the dank conditions of the Dark Forest, she needed to wrap herself in her warm, comforting bed sheets and fall asleep. She had worked hard, she deserved this, of course.

Kamui had used her skills in speech and persuasion to get Silas out of his predicament with the Nohrian Guard. Using her status as a princess as well as a bit of her womanly wiles (what little there were), she managed to convince the captain that Silas had a reasonable cause to flee from his position and come to her aid. She was, afterall, on a mission for the king  
.   
Rustling around in her bed, Kamui thought of exactly what she had done. She wasn’t proud of it, no, but it was necessary. It was an order from her father after all, and that certainly could not be ignored. It wasn’t as if she had hurt anyone. She could have ordered the fighters at her disposal to attack the tribe in order to suppress the rebellion like Garon had expected, but instead she challenged its chief to a duel and won. Kamui made a mental note to thank Leo for instructing her in magic later.

Just as her mind began to go blank and she started to fall asleep, she was startled by an abrupt knock on the door. Baring her sharp and beast-like teeth, she sat up and stomped down on the bedroom floor as she stood and marched over to the door. Who could be visiting her at this hour?

Kamui tiredly turned the knob of the door and pulled, only to come face to face with a plain white tunic. Looking up, she was surprised to see Silas standing before her with a bright red face. 

“K-Kamui! Oh my gods, I’m sorry!” he said, covering his eyes with his hands.

“What?” Kamui asked. She then realized that she was standing in her undergarments and rolled her eyes. “Silas, please.”

Slowly removing his hands, the knight awkwardly shuffled in place before addressing the princess.

“Ah…I’ve been dismissed from the Nohrian Guard.”

“You what?!” Kamui shouted in rage. “How could that happen? We came to an understanding! Silas, what did you do?” 

“It’s not a bad thing!” Silas quickly responded. “The captain said that if I’m to be serving the princess herself, then there’s no need for me to be a member anymore. I was honorably discharged.”

Kamui sighed in relief. She was afraid that the man had done something to get himself in trouble. He had already almost been executed and had to have Kamui rescue him; she did not want to have to do it again. 

“Alright, so you’re no longer a knight. That’s unfortunate, by why are you telling me this so late at night? Could you have not waited until the morning?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t really have a place to stay anymore, so I was wondering if I could maybe sleep here? Just for the night, or until I can buy my own house.”  
Kamui blinked. “You want to sleep with me?”  
“Yeah!” Silas said enthusiastically, then shaking his head moments later. “Wait, no. Not in a sexual way—that would be weird. Just in Corrin’s old bed, if that’s okay with you.”

Glancing back at the aforementioned bed, Kamui bit her lip. It had not been touched since the day they had left for the border. Not wanting to dwell on it, Kamui shrugged and stepped aside. 

“You may. Just try not to make any noise, alright? And if you snore, I’ll stab you with my lance arm.”

“Thanks! Oh right, you can do that. Isn’t that strange?” Silas asked as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “It makes sense that you can turn into a dragon, but transforming individual parts of your body? That’s amazing.”

“I suppose it is,” Kamui responded. From what she had been experimenting with, Kamui had discovered that she could change her head, arms, hands, legs, tongue, and was even able to sprout wings. It was an interesting ability that she wanted to know more about, but had not had the time. 

Silas crawled into Corrin’s bed and made himself comfortable, grunting for a moment. “Does it feel weird?”

“No,” Kamui answered as she returned to her original position wrapped in her bed sheets.

“Can you like, be a full dragon with human limbs?”

“No.”

“What about that weird water thing you have when you’re a full dragon? You know how water seems to just float around you. Have you found a way to use it in human form?”

“No.”

“Doesn’t it make you uncomfortable?”

Kamui squinted, turning over in her bed. “Why would it make me uncomfortable…?”

“Well, the first time you did it was when your mom died, right? I figured it might trigger some bad memories.”

With a grimace, Kamui mused on the question for a moment. “Well, no. I don’t think about that.”

“Huh, that’s interesting. Honestly I’m shocked we didn’t figure anything out when you and Corrin were younger. I mean, you both have red eyes and weird ears, and you have those teeth of yours. How’d people explain that to you?”

“They didn’t.” Kamui bit her tongue and frowned. “They didn’t even try making anything up. All of our maids or Father’s mistresses would just say that it was odd and that they didn’t know anything. I was confused for a long time, but Corrin just accepted it. That’s what he always did, afterall.”

“Does,” Silas corrected. “We can’t talk about him like he’s dead, Kamui. He’s just not here with us.”

“He might as well be,” Kamui spat. “Dead to me. He betrayed his country, his family. How could he do that?”

Silas hummed for a moment in thought. “Can you really blame him? He thinks that Garon killed you guys’ mother. And it’s true that he abducted you when you were young, right? Don’t you think that his decision is justified?”

“Absolutely not!” Kamui shouted, glaring at the wall. “It doesn’t matter if we’re related by blood or not, our family is in Nohr. We grew up with them, they’ve loved us all this time, they’re our real family. That’s the end of it.”

“You don’t feel at all betrayed?”

“That’s enough, Silas,” the princess said through grit teeth. “Go to bed or I’ll hurt you.”

Her knight chuckled and turned over. “So much anger in that little body of yours.”

“Silas.”

“Alright, I’m going to sleep. Goodnight.”

Silence filled the room as Silas drifted off to sleep, Kamui kept awake by her nagging thoughts. Was it wrong of her to stand with Nohr? Did she make the right decision? She had asked herself this dozens of times, and each time she ended up without an answer. The princess was getting sick of it. She did not want to think about that now, however. All she wanted to do was sleep. 

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Not six hours later, Kamui stood before her father once again, Xander by her side. She was tired, having barely gotten any sleep, and her dark eyes showed it. She had to constantly remind herself to maintain proper posture in front of her father and Iago, for the snake would certainly point out her misconduct and attempt to punish her. 

King Garon sat on his throne as usual with an unmoving expression. Unless he summoned someone, he was never one to speak first. Kamui cleared her throat and raised her head to look him in the eye. 

“Father, I have returned from my mission.”

“Yes, you have.” Kamui noticed a small smile on her father’s face. “Gloriously so, I might add. Iago has informed me of your success. Quelling a rebellion with a duel between you and the leader? Impressive, my daughter. Well done, I’m proud of you.”

A wave of excitement consumed the princess. Here she was, receiving praise from a man who never gave it, and from her father no less. She couldn’t help but give a wide smile. 

“Thank you, Father! Your gratitude means very much to me!” 

Garon nodded. “And I’ve been told that a knight assisted you? What was the boy’s name, your friend from when you were a child?”

“Silas,” Kamui answered. “I apologize for his recklessness, Father. I suppose he just really wanted to see me.”

With a chuckle, the king nodded. “Yes, yes. I’m sure your sister thought it was very romantic, no?”

Everyone but Iago laughed, despite the fact that Kamui was confused. Her Father had never joked about anything in front of her—not in a non-threatening manner. Why now? 

“Yes, she did. I waved it off, though. I’d like to focus on my position and not my love life for now.”

“Excellent! Now, speaking of which. I have another mission for you, but it won’t be so soon. You deserve rest after putting your skills to good use. You are dismissed, Kamui.”

Having not spoken a word since entering the room with his sister, Xander cleared his throat. “Actually, Father. I would like to make a request.”

“Speak, then.”

“My retainers have expressed interest in assisting Kamui in her military endeavors, and I would like to ask that they be relieved of service to me and instead serve under her for a period of time.”

Gasping, Kamui quickly turned her head to her brother. “Your retainers would like to work under me?”

Xander smiled. “Indeed. After telling them of how impressive you were in combat, they discussed meeting you and I wanted to give them a break from the work that comes with their position. It’s a small favor to them, really.”

“Are you sure about this?” Garon asked. “You have more work to do very soon, so I do not think it wise to lose two valuable soldiers right now.”

“I’m sure, Father.”

“Then so be it.” He closed his eyes and nodded. “You have my permission. Now, you are both dismissed.”

After giving their gratitude and thanks, the siblings exited the grand hall and immediately grinned at each other. “Xander, I’ve never met your retainers. I don’t even know anything about them,” Kamui said with a chuckle. “Don’t you think you should tell me a bit about them?”

The prince shook his head. “No, no. I think it is much better that you should experience the both of them for yourself, it truly is a wonder. Speaking of.” He turned the corner as they walked and gestured in front of him. Kamui stepped before him and stopped in her tracks when she saw two people standing in the hall, casually talking to each other.

One was a man with gray hair and a dashing visage complete with a shining white smile. He stood loosely, yet something about the way his right hand lingered close to his sword’s hilt told Kamui that he had seen his fair share of combat. 

The other one was a woman with strange hair, colored pink and blue and set in two messy ponytails on each side of her head. The bangs of her hair covered one of her eyes, though she could see that the visible one was pink. She was smiling widely and had a childlike aura to her.

“You two,” Xander spoke, catching their attention immediately. The woman gasped and jumped for joy upon seeing Kamui while the man simply sighed with relief and crossed his arms. Both approached her quickly and Kamui felt as if she was being encroached on by two large bears.

“Hi hi hi!” the woman said in a raspy yet feminine voice, waving her hand. She took both of Kamui’s hands into hers and shook them quickly, making the princess slightly dizzy. “You must be Kamui! I’ve heard a lot about you!”

“Ah…” Kamui wanted to give a coherent response, but was too distracted by just how cute the girl before her was. “I’m Kamui, yes.”

“And I’m Laslow,” the man told her with a respectful bow. His voice was suave; Kamui could tell he was a romantic. “A pleasure to meet you, milady.”

“The other one is Peri,” Xander told his little sister. “Now, these two are…special, you see. Excellent fighters, interesting people. I’m sure you’ll get along with them just fine. Now, I have business to attend to. Enjoy yourselves, the three of you.”

Once Xander had left, Kamui noticed that Peri was staring at her face. After several moments of gazing into each other’s eyes, Peri burst out laughing. 

“Ahaha! Your face is so red!”

Kamui cursed herself for her weakness to attractive women and silently prayed that she wouldn’t have to ever fight one. “Ah, m-my apologies. I’m not used to being so close to people,” she half-lied.

Laslow chuckled. “Cute, isn’t she? No shame in admitting it, everyone falls for her at first. That is, until they get to know her better.”

The princess froze. She was impressed with Laslow’s sharp perception, but also incredibly wary of the fact that she might have just been found out. 

“I don’t really—”

“Hey!” Peri interrupted, staring daggers at Laslow. Kamui was thrown off guard by just how terrifying the cute girl’s glare was. “That’s really mean, Laslow! It’s not my fault!” 

“It most certainly is,” Laslow responded. He covered his mouth and whispered to Kamui. “When you go around sticking a blade through anything that moves, people are generally turned off.”

“I’m sure you’re wonderful,” Kamui quickly said to Peri, making her smile. Laslow’s comment had frightened her only slightly, but she did not want to take any chances. “I look forward to getting to know you both.”

Laslow smirked and nodded in response. “And I you.”

“Me, too!”

Kamui began to walk forward, followed by the two retainers. Laslow’s gait was reserved yet confident while Peri seemed to put a spring in every step, both things the princess took note of. “So, where are you from? Both of you.”

“I’m from Valhalla!” Peri said enthusiastically. This was a small surprise to Kamui, since that would mean that Peri came from a prestigious background, for Valhalla was the wealthiest part in all of the country. Most retainers of her siblings that she knew of came from not-so-fortunate circumstances, so it was odd to see a noble serving her brother. “I don’t really miss it there, though. No one there was as fun as the people here!”

“I see. And you, Laslow?”

“Ah…I’m not from the continent, you see. I come from a far off place, a place you’ve likely never heard of,” he responded in a melancholic manner. “For now, let’s just say somewhere in Helheim. Will that answer be satisfactory?”

Kamui shrugged. “You were honest, and that’s all I can ask for. How did you manage to get your positions? As retainers, that is.”

Laslow cracked a smile, something that made Peri pout. “Ah, well I arrived in Nohr and made a name for myself as a sellsword for a while, alongside two friends of mine. We garnered the attention of your father, you see, and he appointed us as retainers to three of the royal children. As for Peri—”

“I can tell it myself!” the girl shouted as she shoved Laslow to the side and made him chuckle. Her face had grown red with what Kamui assumed was anger, or perhaps embarrassment. She calmed herself at once, then presenting herself in an orderly manner to the princess with a smile. “Lord Xander went to a tournament in an arena I liked to go to and saw the way I fought. He was impressed, so he had me summoned by the Royal Court and here I am!”

“He selected you himself? Why, you must have really impressed him for that to happen.”

“Yes, although now she only scares him,” Laslow japed, much to Peri’s annoyance.

“You’re always making fun of me! Leave me alone!” Peri shouted in a childish and tantrum-like manner. The way her one visible eye glinted when she was angry struck fear into Kamui’s heart, something she wished to laugh at herself for, seeing as how someone like Peri couldn’t possibly be frightening.

Kamui cleared her throat, partially to move the conversation along and partially to dissuade Peri from her rage. “And you, Laslow? I take it you know your way around a sword as well.”

“Why, of course. How else would I have impressed the likes of a king?”

“Do you do anything else? Unless you’re a mercenary through and through, you must have some sort of hobby.”

Laslow smiled proudly. “Yes, I’m a dancer. Have been since I was a child. My mother taught me, actually. You see, she—”

“I like to cook!” Peri interrupted with a smile. It seemed that her previous anger had completely subsided, much to Kamui’s pleasure. “Oh, oh! I can cook for you, if you want! What do you like to eat, Kamui?”

As Laslow’s face twisted in annoyance, Kamui thought about the question she had just been asked. What did she like to eat? All her life she had simply eaten what was put in front of her at the dinner table, usually only occupied by her and her brother with possibly a few maids here and there. She had never really taken the time to think about what she actually enjoyed eating, or the fact that she was supposed to enjoy eating at all. 

“Well, I suppose I enjoy red meat. Meat in general is good,” she responded. “Do you specialize in anything?”

“I usually bake, but I can work with meat, too! See, I think I’m really good at cooking.”

With a reluctant sigh, Laslow nodded in agreement. “I’m going to have to agree with that, actually. She’s a skilled chef.”

“Then I expect you to make me the best meal you can,” Kamui said with a smile. After a bit of more walking, the three entered the castle’s single training ground. “Now, what do you say to getting to know each other better via a bit of sparring, hm?”

The color drained from Laslow’s face and his expression went grim. “Ah, that’s fine, thank you. I’m not really feeling up to any sort of fighting right now.”

“I’ll do it!” Peri piped up gleefully. “I’m used to fighting on a horse, but I’m sure I’ll do fine without one!”

Kamui grinned and drew her sword, walking over to the center of the area. “That’s the enthusiasm that I like to see! Come on, grab a weapon of your choice.”

“Ooh, you’re not going to use a practice sword? You’re using the actual Yato?” Peri asked as she took hold of a lance. “Aw, you’re making me feel special!”

Suppressing her smile, Kamui nodded as Laslow rolled his eyes and sat down on the spectator’s bench. “I’m trying to familiarize myself with the weapon, you see. It would be best to make use of it when I can.”

“Okay!” Peri turned around and gave a thumbs up to Laslow. “You count us down, Laslow!”

With a nod, he stood and clapped his hands together. “Three! Two! One! Begin!”

Kamui began with a dash forward as Peri ran towards her. She expected her opponent to perhaps slow down or attempt to go around her, but Peri did not stop her running. Her lance would have made direct contact with Kamui’s face if it were not for her reflexively blocking the slash with her blade and stepping back.

All the while with a gleeful smile on her face, Peri did not once back down. She consistently delivered jabs and slashes, Kamui being forced to block every one of them. There was not an opportunity for rest to be found until Kamui saw a small flaw in Peri’s form.

Stepping on her foot, Kamui forced Peri back with the flat end of her blade. She stumbled back and Kamui used the chance to slam the blade into her side, knocking her down. 

Laslow raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Well that was quick! Only one hit, too! Nice job, Kamui!”

With a nod, Kamui extended her hand and pulled Peri to her feet. She didn’t seem upset over her loss at all, still bearing a bright smile. 

“Wow, you blocked everything I threw at you! That was impressive!”

“Well, you were incredibly aggressive,” Kamui put rather bluntly. “You came at me recklessly. That’s not how you usually fight, is it?”

“No no, it is.” Laslow exited the stands and approached the two women on the ground. “She’s extremely violent. You saw that look in her eye, yeah? Watch what you say, though. She could snap at any moment!”

“Laslow!” Peri whined, weakly beating her fists on Laslow’s arm. “This is why all the soldiers here look at me weirdly and don’t want to talk to me! You keep telling everyone that I’m crazy!”

Laslow stepped to the side, leaving Peri swinging her fists at the air. “It’s for their own safety, I promise. Lady Kamui, you should probably know that Peri here has been known for sudden bursts of anger, which usually ends with someone being maimed, bystander or not. I have no idea why or how she gets away with it, but she does.”

“It’s not like I’m doing anything bad! Why would I get in trouble for that?” 

Kamui raised an eyebrow in a mixture of confusion, shock, and interest. This information was disturbing, to say the least. Her thirst for blood combined with her sloppy fighting style would of course make her a liability on the battlefield, and yet Xander had spoke highly of her in the past. Maybe she was better in battle as opposed to a one on one fight? 

As the princess remained lost in thought, Laslow and Peri continued to bicker. “Peri, I don’t know how many times I have to explain this. Hurting innocent people is wrong, okay?”

“But no one’s really innocent! Besides! What about me? If I need some stress relief, it’s their fault for being near me!”

Kamui snapped her fingers in order to get their attention. She then cleared her throat and put her hands behind her back, beginning to walk away. “It was a pleasure to meet you both, but I’m afraid I have matters that I need to attend to. We’ll be working together in due time, however. Please, don’t be afraid to approach me if you need anything. Goodbye, now.”

“Bye!” Peri waved her arm in a wide arc to bid her farewell while Laslow simply waved modestly. After she was gone, they resumed arguing.

Once she was back in the castle, Kamui prepared herself briefly. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she moved her arm in a circle and concentrated. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with a familiar golden portal. Smiling, she stepped through it and into the Astral Plane.

Having lived in Nohr for nearly two decades, Kamui was not used to lush grass or clear skies. Deeply inhaling the scent of the greenery, the princess slipped off her shoes and let the grass tickle her feet. With a smile, she began walking in search of her old friend. 

“Lilith?” she called, her eyes scanning the area in front of her. When she turned around, she was startled by the floating dragon’s presence. Lilith’s facial expressions were limited, but Kamui could make out a smile on her face. 

Behind Lilith was something that should have been impossible. Within a minute, the area Kamui had just been standing in was replaced with what resembled a town hub. There was an armory, mess hall, several crops crowing on their own plots, and even a bath house. In the center of it was the large treehouse that she and Corrin had spoken in the first time they arrived here. Kamui squinted at her friend. 

“Uh…hello, Lilith. What is this?”

“Well, you’re going to be a general, right? I figured I could use my powers here to help you out! See, in the Astral Plane, dragons can pretty much create whatever they want. You’re not a full dragon like I am, so you can’t. Sorry! Anyway, I made all of this to help you out!” Lilith spun on her floating orb with a proud smile. “Oh, I made one for Corrin, too. I know you guys are fighting and all, but if I’m going to stay neutral in all of this—”

Kamui held her hand up to stop Lilith from continuing. “It’s fine, Lilith. Thank you. But can other people even be here?” she asked. “People that aren’t dragons like us?”

“Yes!” Lilith replied. “Only you can open the gateway, though. When you’re traveling, you can just stuff all of your friends in here and you won’t have to worry about supplies or weather conditions at all!”   
Gesturing for Lilith to come with her, Kamui walked forward in order to further investigate the area. She opened each building and peered through their doors to make sure that everything was in order and they all appeared perfectly normal. Sure, there was no water source for the hot springs to gain its water from, but it wasn’t as if the real world had nothing similar. There were plenty of spells to draw moisture from the air and Kamui even emitted water from between her scales when she was a full dragon. 

“This is…incredibly useful,” Kamui said in a whisper. “We could hold our own in battle for practically forever with this. Gods, the tactical advantage it has. Lilith, you’re amazing!”

The dragon giggled, pleased with her praise. Seeing as how she was merely a maid for the twins not a month ago, she was only used to the occasional “thank you” or “good job”. “If I’m going to be stuck here for a while, I might as well make myself useful. Though, I do feel a bit selfish.”

“Why? This is the epitome of generosity!”

Lilith put on a sheepish smile. “I came up with the idea when thinking of ways to get you and Corrin to visit me more…”

With a grin, Kamui pulled Lilith into as much of a hug as she could manage. “I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you. I’ve been extremely busy with a task Father assigned me along with dealing with a friend of mine. I promise we’ll see each other almost everyday from now on, okay?”

Nodding, Lilith tilted on her orb once Kamui released her. “Yes…Kamui, I can sense your frustration. You seem stressed, and I know that you’re still hesitant about the war.”

“What? How did you—”

“I’ve been watching over you since you were a little girl. I can tell when something is wrong.” Lilith floated over next to an extravagant fountain with a statue of a black dragon in the center and set herself down on the edge, Kamui sitting next to her. “You know, you can theoretically just quit.”

Kamui looked perplexed. “Quit? What do you mean?”

“You can gather up all of your friends and family and just live here. No one would know where any of you went and even if they did, it’s not as if they can get here.”

“I could never do that,” the princess responded quickly, biting her tongue afterwards. “I couldn’t leave Father like that nor abandon my country. I know that we have a strong army, but I’m supposed to lead it eventually. What would Father do without his children? He’s old, Lilith. Xander is to be king when he inevitably dies. If not Xander, then who? Camilla would be next in line, but knowing how he schemes, it would likely be Iago! I refuse to have that wretched snake be in charge of anything more than his own personal belongings, and even then I wish to seize them in the name in Nohr.”

“Well, of course. I was only suggesting—”

“And what if I could not convince everyone to follow me? Imagine if I came here with Camilla and Elise and abandoned Xander and Leo! I couldn’t separate them like that! I couldn’t separate anyone like that!”

Lilith frowned. “Kamui…”

Kamui let out a weak laugh, running her fingers through her hair and holding her head in her hands. “But I’ve already done that, haven’t I? At the Bottomless Canyon. All of those men probably had loved ones they were expecting to go home to, didn’t they?”

“No no, you’re not going down that road, Kamui. I won’t let you.” Lilith floated over and set herself down in Kamui’s lap, looking up at her. “Look, you’re going to have to get over that quickly. You’re going to be a general of the army that belongs to the biggest military powerhouse in the world. You could even rise to the title of High Commander. I know that killing people isn’t enjoyable, but…you’re going to have to deal with that, alright?”

After a brief moment of reflection, Kamui sharply inhaled and sat up straight. “Yes, I know. I was only complaining about my duty like a fool. Forgive me.”

“Oh come now, there’s no need to feel guilty,” Lilith reminded the princess as she rose to her feet. “Look…Corrin’s told me that he’s making it a priority to have as little casualties as possible in his battles. He aims to aubdue, not murder. Perhaps that’s something you should consider?”

A sour expression overtook Kamui’s face. “Corrin. No, I don’t want to be like him. I don’t want anything to do with him.”

Lilith frowned. “Don’t be stubborn. You’re willing to throw your own morals to the side just so you don’t resemble your brother? Kamui, that goes against—”

Clenching her fists, Kamui grit her teeth and turned her head to face Lilith. “I don’t need you lecturing me!” she shouted. 

Lilith noted how Kamui looked when she was angry. She had always been hotheaded, yes, but she would rarely shout at anyone. When she did, she truly did resemble a dragon whose territory had been invaded. She was guarded, her sharp and animalistic teeth in clear view to ward off anyone who dare come near. Even her blood red eyes had a more intense ferocity to them. 

With a sigh, Lilith floated away from the princess. She felt as if Kamui were about to draw her sword, but she remained still. “I’m not lecturing you,” Lilith said. “I’m only trying to help you, okay? Look, take some time to think about what you want to do and what kind of leader you want to be. You can do that here if you want.” She turned around and began to float away. “Your brother’s here, so I’m going to go. Good luck, Kamui.”

Looking to the ground, Kamui did not have time to say anything before Lilith disappeared. Lord, what was wrong with her? She had just shouted at one of her most cherished friends, and for only trying to assist her as well. Rife with guilt, she shook her head and reopened the portal back to her room, quickly stepping through and closing it once she was on the other side. 

Not bothering to check if anyone was nearby, the frustrated princess let out a scream and slammed her fist against the door. She winced, not in pain, but upon hearing the sound of the wood cracking. She made a mental note to request that the door be replaced.

After taking a quick glance out of her bedroom window, Kamui groaned. The sun was directly overhead, meaning it was only noon. The day had barely just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a shorter, Kamui-focused chapter, so naturally the next one is going to be a longer, Corrin-focused chapter. Until then, don't forget to have a good one, leave your kudos and comments, and enjoy yourselves.


	8. False Pretenses

After the Hoshidans’ encounter with the Wind Tribe, it had not taken them long to arrive in Izumo. It was mildly awkward having to introduce Hayato to the rest of the band, but the boy had integrated himself among them well enough. He seemed to be making fast friends with Rinkah at least, much to everyone’s surprise. 

Izumo was more beautiful than anything Corrin had seen in pictures. The sheer spectacle of it all astounded him. Neither the gothic appearance of Nohr nor the beautiful serenity of Hoshido could compare to the marvels of architecture that were Izumo’s buildings, especially not its palace. The structure was phenomenal, fitted apart of a gargantuan tree whose leaves rose to conceal the sides of the palace. As for the top, several golden panels swept down like waves to form the roof. Most would find it simple yet alluring, and that’s exactly what Corrin loved about it. 

“Are we allowed to be here?” Corrin asked Azura cautiously. Despite having had this visit planned for days, he wasn’t sure of the specifics of Hoshidan soldiers being on official business in a neutral territory.

Azura smiled at Corrin’s ignorance. “It’s fine, I promise. They may be neutral, but Izumo is still more our friend than Nohr’s.”

“This is where I was born, actually,” Hana added. “I didn’t grow up here, though, but I’m still an Izumite by definition!”

After waiting a few minutes, an Izumite official approached them with a smile. They had been waiting just by the inside of the gates for a while. “My apologies for taking so long, we had to get things prepared for our guests. Now, before we head to the palace, might I ask what your business here is?”

Corrin remained silent for a few moments until Azura cleared her throat, reminding him that it was him that had to speak. “O-oh! Yes, ah, we’re looking for two companions of ours that we believe came by here a few days ago. They may have been in a battle around here. Do you know anything about that?”

The Izumite looked perplexed. “A…battle? Here? I don’t believe I’ve heard anything about that. You see, sir, Izumo has been a neutral territory for generations. There would be no way a battle would occur within our borders, I assure you.” He remained smiling in order to maintain a hospitable aura. “Now, come. We are prepared to host you.”

Pursing his lips, Corrin and the rest of the Hoshidans followed the Izumite as he began walking towards the palace. Setsuna pulled on Corrin’s sleeve and looked up at him. “You have a weird look on your face. Are you alright, Corrin?”

The prince slowly nodded. “Yes, yes. I’m fine. But—”

“Suspicious, no?” Azura asked. “I feel the same. Surely there had to have been some sort of encounter nearby. It’s implausible that they would not have heard anything about it.”

“He’s lying,” Saizo suggested, glaring into the Izumite’s back. “He knows something.”

Kaze raised his hand in order to calm Saizo. “Peace, brother. Perhaps we were just misinformed? I’m sure we will find Prince Ryoma and Lord Takumi in due time.”

With a sigh, Orochi placed her hand over her heart and closed her eyes. “I only pray we do…”

“Two princes won’t stay missing for long. Even if we don’t find them, I’m sure someone else will. That doesn’t mean I’m not still worried about them, though,” said Hinoka. 

“Or perhaps we won’t find them at all. Only time will tell,” Azama added with a sigh. Orochi frowned.

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic!”

“I assure you, realistic is all I’ve ever been. I’m simply looking at an outcome that is very much possible.”

Azura turned around to face the rest of the party, walking backwards. “Peace, everyone. Let us try to remain optimistic. We should be grateful that all of Hoshido doesn’t know about this. Imagine the chaos and panic. It is our job to safely secure and return the both of them back to Hoshido without informing the people, though of course we can do so afterwards if they wish to.”

The Hoshidans began to mumble amongst themselves, nodding in agreement with Azura. Corrin bit the inside of his cheek and pursed his lips, careful not to let Setsuna see. He was beginning to grow jealous of Azura’s excellent speaking abilities. He was supposed to be the leader here, right? Why was he allowing Azura to do his job?

Waving the thought aside, he instead focused on the task at hand. They needed to receive more information on Ryoma and Takumi, then continue their search. It was simple—nothing complicated. He could certainly display his leadership abilities here.

Once they entered the palace, Corrin was soothed by its atmosphere. It was incredibly calming and welcoming, unlike the menacing and serious air of Castle Krakenburg or the businesslike one of Castle Shirasagi. It certainly didn’t feel like a palace, but more akin to someone’s home. The walls and floors were a warm gold color, the decor adding a touch of life to the room. 

The Izumite that initially greeted them bowed. “The archduke will be with you shortly,” he said, then walking away with his partner. Not a minute later, a tall man with a regal appearance entered the room. His long platinum blonde hair was parted at the top, exposing his forehead which bore a peculiar mark on it, something Corrin assumed was indicative of his position. He wore black and white robes that dragged along the floor and he bore a warm and pleasant smile.

“Greetings, Hoshidans,” he spoke softly and in a serene manner with a calming voice. “I am Archduke Izanagi no Mikoto, though you may address me as simply Izana. How may I help you today?”  
Corrin winced upon hearing his mother’s apparent namesake. It was pronounced differently, yes, but still evoked painful memories of what had happened at the Shirasagi town square. Clearing his throat, he reminded himself to speak clearly and with purpose, just as Xander had once taught him. 

“A pleasure to meet you, Archduke Izana. Me and my—err, my companions and I seek information about a battle that likely occurred just outside of your borders. You see, two of the Hoshidan princes had gone missing near here, and we assumed that they resisted.”

With a perplexed expression, Izana tilted his head and thought for a moment. “A battle? Why, I have heard of no such thing, though I may have information about the princes.”  
“You do?” Corrin asked excitedly, then remembering to calm himself. “Ah, forgive me, but you do?”

“Yes, yes. Some citizens have reported sightings of two men that resemble them around the city.” Izana nodded his head and interlocked his fingers. “Your soldiers…some of them appear to be injured.” Subaki grimaced as he touched the bandage on his arm. “No worries. The palace contains within it hot springs that can melt away fatigue in an instant. Why don’t they spend some time in there while we discuss politics, yes?”

Corrin raised an eyebrow and turned to Azura, then back to Izana. “Just you and I…?”

“Oh no no, all members of the royal family. I believe that that would be three of you, or am I mistaken?”

“Azura,” Hinoka told him. “She is also a princess of Hoshido. You’re forgiven for not knowing of her—her circumstances are unusual.”

Azura smiled. “Thank you, Hinoka.”

Clapping his hands together, Izana turned around and began walking. “In that case, the four of you. Come now, we’ll speak in my office. Someone will be around to escort your friends shortly.”  
Nodding, Corrin started to walk after Izana but felt a small force stopping him. Looking down, he was met was the displeased face of Setsuna, who had taken hold of his arm. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Setsuna. He’s the archduke, afterall. Trust me on this.”

Reluctantly releasing him, she stepped back into the rest of the party with an uncertain expression. Corrin continued on with his sisters after giving a wave and his companions were ushered off shortly after. 

Izana’s office was but a short walk from the palace’s main hall. The entrance was modest, being only a little taller than Corrin. The inside, however, was as lavish and magnificent as the rest of the palace interior. In the center stood a large desk of what Corrin presumed to be mahogany, multiple stacks of paper laid on top of it. A golden inkwell sat next to a long and elegant quill fit for an Archduke, something that Corrin somewhat envied. He was a prince and had to lead an army out on long and tiring journeys, but a religious figurehead got to live like a king? He tried not to think too much of it, but it was proving to be difficult.

Pulling out four chairs from the side of the room, Izana gave the royals a smile and set the chairs before his desk, then sitting down on his own large chair and resting his head in his hands. “Now, just so I can get a clear picture of the situation. When was the last time you saw the princes? Ah, your brothers. My apologies.”

No one spoke, so Corrin assumed they were waiting for him to. He cleared his throat and began to explain. “Well…the last time I saw either of them was the day after Nohr attacked the capital. Ryoma congratulated me on my new position and Takumi was with him. He didn’t say much, though. Just looked at me.” He turned to his sisters with an inquisitive expression. “What about you guys?”

“Sakura and I spoke to Takumi the morning of the day that they left. They were supposed to be heading to Cheve, but they didn’t tell me why. Azura?” Hinoka asked.

Azura shook her head. “I’m afraid I know only what Corrin does. I am sorry.”

“Cheve, hm?” Izana said to himself. “That is not too far from here. I see why you were told that they had intended to arrive in Izumo. Now, you say that they did not tell you of their intentions, but do you have any ideas that pertain to what they might have been doing?” 

Corrin thought for a moment, but his mind came up blank. His sisters also shook their heads. “No,” Hinoka answered with a sigh. “I’m afraid not.”

“I see…” Izana mumbled, placing his hands on his desk and rising to his feet. “Tsk tsk. A shame. In that case, you are of no use to me.” With a frown, Izana clapped twice.

Before any of them had time to react, the two doors on the side opened and in came pouring around a dozen or so soldiers in heavy armor. Nohrian armor. Sakura gasped and cowered behind Hinoka, who balled her fists since she did not have her lance on her person. Azura cursed the fact that she did not possess her weapon either. The only one of them that was armed was Corrin, and that was only because he never let the Yato out of his sight.

“Izana, what is the meaning of this?!” Hinoka shouted as she stood and pulled Sakura up with her. 

The archduke cackled and hunched over, holding his stomach in laughter. “Hah! Oh, you idiotic girl! Do you know nothing of the archduke of Izumo? I’m not Izana at all!” In a burst of smoke, the man thought to be Izana was transformed. He was suddenly a much smaller man who donned Nohrian mage robes that dragged on the floor. His skin had grayed and his posture was one of an elderly man, hunched over with his hands interlocked. Clearly years of dark magic had taken a toll on his body. 

Corrin shot up and drew his sword with a shocked expression on his face. “Y-you! I remember you from when I was a child!”

“You know him, Corrin?” Azura asked as she backed up. Corrin nodded and clenched his fist tightly around his sword. 

“Yes…Zola. He’s the archmage of Nohr.” While Corrin had never personally met the man himself, he had memories of seeing him speak with Garon every so often. Gunter had told him that Zola was a powerful sorcerer as well as a formidable leader, instructing even the top mages in the Nohrian army. He had garnered a reputation for his conniving ways and seemed to be demonstrating exactly why right now. “What are you doing here?!”

Zola chuckled and took a step forward with a sinister smile on his face. “What does it look like, child? I’m here to kill you, of course! You would have been disposed of eventually if you had chosen to return to Nohr; all you’ve done is made it more difficult for me by having to chase you down.”

Sakura tightly held onto Hinoka’s arm and squeezed her eyes shut, trembling in fear. “I’m s-scared…”

“Oh, don’t cry now, Princess! It’ll be over in an instant. I wouldn’t want to make a little girl suffer, after all.”

Corrin recognized that the situation was seemingly hopeless. It was one boy with a sword and his three unarmed sisters versus twelve fully armored men. Surely there was no way that they would emerge victorious. Corrin knew this, and yet he still stood strong with the Yato in hand. He had to defend his sisters; he would not let anyone lay hand nor blade on them. 

The prince suddenly felt his body begin to warm. Looking down, he saw the dragonstone around his neck glowing a faint green. He glanced back and saw Azura’s pleased smile. With a smirk, he took a step forward towards Zola, who scowled in response. 

“Don’t worry, Sakura. I’ll protect you.”

“Protect her?” Zola’s scowl flipped into a wide grin and he began to chuckle in amusement. “You may possess a legendary sword, but you’re hopeless right now! Just try and fight, little prince!”

For Corrin, what happened next felt like it occurred in under a second. He threw the Yato to the side and struck one of the men in the unarmored part of his side, then charged forward. He was a prince one moment and a beast the other. He had transformed into a dragon nearly twice his height, one that roared nonstop and easily crushed his armored foes. One after the other, each of Zola’s men were overwhelmed by the ferocious dragon swinging his claws, horns, and barbed tail at them, the raw size and strength simply being too much for them to handle.

“Wh-what?” Zola asked himself, far less confident than he had been only moments before. “A d-dragon? But…but how? I—” He did not get to finish his sentence, for Hinoka slammed her fist into his face and made him crumble to the ground. 

Meanwhile, Corrin pressed his foot into the steel armor of one of Nohrians until it began to bend and press into his rib cage. Despite his form, he still managed to show restraint and removed his claws from the soldier once he fell unconscious, then standing motionless.

Azura smiled and clapped her hands together joyfully. “Excellent work, Corrin! You didn’t even have to touch your dragonstone to transform! And you did it with no coaching from me, even! My, I’m surprised.”

“Ah,” Corrin stopped himself, surprised that he could talk in this form. “Thank you, but…how do I undo this?”

With a giggle, Azura laid a hand on his side and closed her eyes. “Just picture it. Imagine yourself transforming back into yourself. It’s easy, really.”

Sure enough, Corrin was back to normal shortly with Azura’s hand resting on his cheek. He smiled and placed his hand on hers without thinking, both of them quickly pulling away when they realised the somewhat suggestive pose they were in.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, Azura. How do you know so much about dragons? You had a dragonstone on you for Kamui and then there’s that song of yours. What’s the story behind that?”

Azura put a finger to her lips and shook her head with a smile. “You will know the time comes. A girl has to have her secrets, afterall. But first, there’s the matter of this one.”

Zola groaned and attempted to stand only to have his hand stepped on by Hinoka. “Stay down,” she demanded. “Now, where are you keeping the real Archduke?”

Gritting his teeth, Zola tightly gripped his arm and attempted to pull it out from under Hinoka’s boot. She responded by pressing down harder and making cry out in pain. “Alright, alright! He’s in the palace dungeon! It only has a single cell! Just please, get off of me!”

Hinoka smirked and removed her boot, looking back and giving Corrin a nod. “Sakura and I will deal with these guys, making sure they’re restrained and everything. You and Azura go free Izana. Is that alright with you, Sakura?”

The youngest princess nodded. She had thankfully stopped shaking. “Yes, we’ll be fine here. Thank you for protecting us, Corrin.”

Corrin flashed a smile and picked up the Yato, then gestured to Azura. They both exited the room and began the walk to the dungeon. On the way there, they saw several unconscious and some dead bodies sprawled along the floor. Nohrians. There was no sign of any of the Palace staff, so Corrin presumed that the ones they had spoken to were also just the Nohrians under Zola’s illusion spell. It must have broken when he revealed himself. 

“You there!”

Corrin turned around to look at the source of the voice that called out. He saw two people running at him with their weapons drawn, a katana and a naginata. They were Hoshidan for sure—he could tell by their attire. One was a man with brown hair and sleeveless armor that exposed his muscular arms and the other was a woman with hair of navy blue and a scowl on her face. Despite their Hoshidan garbs, Corrin was still frightened.

To the prince’s relief, the two skidded to a stop once they had reached him. Their weapons were covered in blood, a sign that they had been a part of the fight that had taken place inside the palace. The woman aimed the blade of her naginata at Corrin. 

“You! State your name and rank!” 

Corrin panicked and dropped his sword. He had never been interrogated at the mercy of a blade before. “Prince Corrin! Commander!” he blurted out. He felt admittedly silly having to state both his positions of authority to someone whom he had never seen before.

The Hoshidans glanced at each other with surprised expressions. The man looked Corrin in the eye and smiled as he let his guard down. “You’re Corrin? Well it’s good to meet you!” He placed his hand on his partner’s naginata and lowered it with minimal struggle coming from her. “I’m Hinata and this is Oboro. We’re Takumi’s retainers! We were here looking for him, actually. Azura,” he nodded at the princess, who nodded back. Clearly they knew each other.

“You’re my brother’s retainers? Good, good! We were here looking for him as well, along with Ryoma. Have you heard anything?”

Hinata shook his head with a frown. “Nope. The staff here kept saying that they didn’t know anything and then poof! They were Nohrian soldiers! The heck’s up with that?”

“Yes, we’re aware. It was an illusion spell cast by the archmage of Nohr. We’ve dealt with him, though,” Azura told them, then glancing back. “Corrin and I have something to attend to. Would you two please go find anyone from Hoshido that you recognize? You can meet up with everyone that way.”

With a grin, Hinata nodded his head and turned around. Oboro’s face remained unchanged, seemingly stuck in a disgusted expression. She too turned around and began walking the other way with Hinata, taking a short glance back to glare at Corrin without saying a word. 

The prince frowned. “Did she seem off to you?”

Azura smiled. “You’ll get used to it. Come.” She continued on down the hall and to the dungeon with Corrin, snickering to herself as she went.

While Corrin had never been in a dungeon before, he certainly did not expect one to be as lavish of that of Izumo Palace. The floor and walls were a gorgeous polished marble and the bars of the lone cell reflected their surroundings clearly. Lying down on soft velvet blankets and reading a book with a content expression was Izana, who did not seem to notice Corrin and Azura’s arrival.

Corrin looked to Azura for council on what to do, but she simply shrugged. Deciding to just go with his instinct, Corrin cleared his throat and turned Izana’s head his way. The archduke smiled and closed his book.

“Ooh! Are you the ones here to rescue me? Nice!” he said as he sprung to his feet. “I think one of those Nohrians took the key, but the lock isn’t all that strong. You could probably break it with a swing from that sword of yours.” Izana gestured to Corrin’s blade and gasped. “Oh. My. Gods! Is that a Yato blade? You must be Princess Kamui!”

“Prince Corrin, actually,” Corrin mumbled in response. He raised his sword and struck the lock, which broke into pieces upon impact. He then took hold of a bar and pulled to open the gate, Izana happily skipping through the opening. 

The archduke examined Azura for a moment, lifting her hair and intently staring at her clothes. He then felt Corrin’s armor and pinched his ear, making him draw in a sharp gasp. “Well you two sure are interesting. Prince Corrin, huh? Then you must be…Princess Hinoka!”

“Azura.”

“That’s what I said! Now, thank you so much for getting me out of there. It wasn’t much of an imprisonment, really. I had the cell equipped with all those luxuries the moment I gained this position. Pretty cool, right? Anyway, what’re you here for? Business? Pleasure? Taking pleasure in business?”

Corrin was not sure what to say. As Izana, Zola was as dignified and serene as he expected an archduke to be. The real Izana was much more…informal. “Um…we were wondering if there were any battles here recently? In the area, that is.”

Izana nodded quickly and blew a raspberry, enthusiastically waving his hand. “Yeah, yeah! A few days ago. It was the both of your brothers, I think. That’s what the people around town are saying, anyway.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Corrin smiled at Azura. Now that they had a clue about their brothers’ whereabouts, finding them would be much easier. “Thank the gods. Do you have any idea where they might have gone? They were supposed to be going to Cheve, but the battle has me concerned that something might have happened to them.”

“Nah, I’m sure they made it out just fine. They’ve got two legendary weapons, not a lot can really threaten them.”

“Weapons can only carry you so far,” Azura added. “Either way, thank you for the information. We apologize for the state that your palace is in currently. There are bodies everywhere…do you know where your staff is being kept?”

Izana frowned. “Actually, I think that that mage and his goons killed them all before throwing me in my cell. I’ll have to fill their positions soon…”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The archduke waved it off and smiled again. “Don’t worry ‘bout it! Now, can I tell ya somethin’? I’m getting a pretty strong feeling from you, Prince Corrin.”

Corrin raised an eyebrow curiously. “You are? What do you mean by that?”

“Your aura! Or something.” Izana laughed and took a step closer to him. “Yeah, it’s all big and stuff. Hey, do you mind if I read your fortune?”

“Read my fortune?”

“Mhm! I’m a descendant of the gods, you know, so I get this neat little fortune telling trick I can do. It’s pretty sweet.”

Corrin and Azura exchanged questionable glances. Izana was a strange man indeed and the fortune telling offer was somewhat suspicious, but he seemed trustworthy enough. Both shrugged at the same time. 

“No, I suppose I don’t mind. Is there somewhere we should go or…?”

“Nope, nothing like that!” Izana placed his hands on Corrin’s cheeks and made the prince blush, then closing his eyes. Corrin looked to Azura for assistance but she simply stifled a laugh. Izana took a deep breath and began to speak. “Oh, ancient gods…what’s up?”

Azura had to bite her tongue to keep herself from bursting out laughing. The informality of addressing the ancient gods with such a greeting was utterly hilarious to her, though more disconcerting to her companion. 

“Oh, I’m getting something! They say…_In the white light, a hand reaches through. A double edged blade cuts your heart in two. Waking dreams fade away. Embrace the brand new day._”  
__

_ _The songstress’ smile faded and was replaced by a look of confusion. Corrin noticed her expression and gave her an inquiring look, which she shook her head in response to. Izana released Corrin’s face and opened his eyes. _ _

_ __ _

_ __ _

“There we go! All done!”

“That’s it?” Corrin asked with a perplexed expression. “What does any of that mean?”

“Dunno. I don’t make the fortunes, I just deliver ‘em.” Izana stretched and yawned, arching his back. “Now, I am just DYING for something bubbly to drink. You guys want to join me in my sauna?”

Azura shook her head. “I’m afraid we’ll have to decline. We have get going, you see. This is somewhat of an urgent issue.”

“Right, right. I get it. My bad for being inconsiderate.” Izana stepped back into his cell and began to gather up his things. “Y’all can leave now. I’m going to be here for a bit cleaning up and stuff. It was awesome meeting you! Hope to see you again!”

With awkward waves goodbye, Corrin and Azura ascended the stairs and continued on back through the palace. “Azura? You made a face as he was reading the fortune. What was that about?”

Azura pursed her lips and twiddled her thumbs as she considered whether or not telling Corrin was a good idea. “Well…those were some of the lyrics to a special song I know.”

“Was it the one you were singing when we met? What you used to calm Kamui down?”

“Yes, that one. It’s strange, really. My mother taught me it when I was a child, but I’ve never known the meaning of the words. And now it’s appeared in a fortune from the gods…”

Corrin tilted his head. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that, actually. How exactly did you do that to Kamui? Is it a magical song?”

“It is. Anyone can sing it, though. It’s only magical when combined with the power from my pendant,” Azura said as she held the pendant around her neck. “Its powers are…unique. It has slight healing capabilities along with calming ones. It’s how I was able to quell our sister’s dragon form.”

Corrin’s eyes sparkled with intrigue. He stared at the peculiarly shaped pendant as he walked the palace halls, biting his lip. “Can…can you teach it to me?”

“You can sing?” Azura asked with a smirk.

“Well, no, but I have always wanted to learn.” The prince sighed happily and recalled memories of his childhood. “Camilla would always sing me lullabies as I went to sleep. Her voice was so beautiful that I decided that I wanted to do the same for Elise. I was always so busy though; I never got the chance to practice.”

Azura gave a satisfied smiled and nodded. “Admirable. I have no qualms teaching you. Just know that I consider myself to be quite blunt. I won’t hesitate to tell you whether or not you’re terrible.”  
With a chuckle, Corrin agreed. “I accept that completely.”

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

The person that Corrin held the most gratitude for was Lilith. Not only had she saved his life at the Bottomless Canyon, but she had bestowed upon him what was practically a small village. It was completely self sufficient with anything and army could need. He was incredibly impressed the first time he saw it and wasted no time introducing it to his army, despite how long it took to explain who and what Lilith was along with the existence of the Astral Plane. Setsuna took it fairly easily, though. She did not seem like the type to think too hard about new information. 

Upon receiving the information that this was to act as a resting place for the army, Lilith conjured up several modest homes for everyone to stay in. Some soldiers shared a house, such as Hinoka and Sakura, while others lived alone, like Subaki. While Corrin didn’t want to raise suspicions, Setsuna insisted that they share a house, and so it was.

It was a comfortable home. It was equipped with a loft, basic furniture, a bath, and two beds. Lilith could not conjure up things that she was not familiar with, so strategy tomes or complicated mechanisms couldn’t be created. The dragon herself even had her own little den near Corrin’s home. 

“You know, this place is pretty cool!” Hinata said to Corrin as they walked to where he would be staying. “It’s a whole other dimension, right? That’s amazing! Don’t you think, Oboro?”

Since they had met the day before, Oboro had not spoken a word in front of her commander. Corrin thought it informal. She was his subordinate after all, though he did like to think of himself as being on equal grounds with the rest of his army. The spear fighter crossed her arms and shrugged, much to Hinata’s dissatisfaction. 

“Aw come on! Say something!”

“Does she not like me?” Corrin asked with a frown. He turned his head towards Oboro. “I’m sorry if I did anything to make you upset with me. I assure you that I didn’t mean to.”

With her seemingly permanent scowl still intact, Oboro upturned her eyes at her superior. “It’s your fault that any of this happened, you know,” she said through grit teeth. “If it weren’t for you, the queen would still be alive and the princes wouldn’t be missing. You Nohrian scum really are all the same.”

Taken aback by Oboro’s sudden harshness, Corrin looked to the side, unsure of how to respond. Hinata gasped and waved his hands with an apologetic smile. “Oh, don’t mind her. She doesn’t mean it, really! She just kind of has a vendetta against Nohrians for her own reasons. It’s nothing personal, really.”  


“All Nohrians?” Corrin asked. “Isn’t that somewhat err…racist?”

“It’s justified.” Oboro put bluntly.

“Well…like I said, I’m sorry about Mother dying. It was my sword that started it all…but I promise you that I bore no ill will towards any citizen of Hoshido. My intentions that day were only to show everyone that I wished to become apart of this country. It truly is a shame that my father—”

“Don’t talk like that!” Oboro interrupted, glaring at him. “I don’t care about your apologies! Your intentions don’t matter to me! It’s not what you wanted to do, but what you did do. Gods, with the queen dead, our chances of winning this war are probably halved! Why couldn’t Rinkah and Kaze just killed you and your stupid sister in Nohr like they should have done in the first place?!”

Oboro stormed off as Corrin’s expression darkened. Despite not even knowing her, her words cut deep. She was not wrong. None of this would have happened if he and Kamui had just been killed after they exited the Bottomless Canyon. Better yet, they should have crashed into the wall and arrived in the other world as corpses. That would be best for everyone. 

Hinata sighed regretfully and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry about her. I’ll talk to her, alright? I mean, you’re our commander. There’s got to be some respect there.” He gestured ahead to the house before them. “That’s mine, right? I’ll remember it.” He began a light jog away and gave a smile and a wave. “I’ll see you later, Corrin!”

As Hinata left him, Corrin bit the inside of his cheek. This could prove to be problematic. If Oboro hated him then there was little chance that she would listen to orders given in battle. If someone else died due to Corrin’s own mistakes…

“Cooooriiiin.”

Turning around, Corrin was happy to see Setsuna approach with a smile on her face. She pulled him into a hug and lightly giggled. “Hey, Azama told me that Orochi is looking for you. She should be over by the armory.”

“Alright, thanks for telling me. I’ll go over there now. Would you like to come with me?”

Setsuna nodded happily. “Mhm.”

The space in which the buildings and facilities occupied was not large, though the prince still had a slight bit of trouble navigating it. The homes were all the same and seemed to blend together, so he got turned around several times. He made mental notes of the landmarks around the area, namely the hot springs. Finally, he found Orochi standing before the armory with a nervous expression. She gasped when she saw him and Setsuna and quickly approached them.

“Corrin! It’s so good to see you. I’ve asked all around, but no one seems to know where they went!” She spoke hastily and jumbled with panic in her eyes, causing Corrin to become concerned.

“Orochi, Orochi! Slowly. I can’t understand you,” he said clearly and calmly. Speaking in a low tone seemed to help calm her, for her breathing slowed and she became more level headed. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak.

“I can’t find my scrolls. Any of them,” she told him. “I put them in the armory like you told us all to and when I went to go practice just now, they were all gone!”

Setsuna tilted her head and squinted. “All of them? What do you think happened to them?”

“I don’t know! Someone might have taken them mistaking them for their own? But I’m the only diviner in the army, so it’s not as if anyone else would be able to use them!”

Upon Orochi finishing her sentence, Corrin winced. “Actually, you’re not the only diviner. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but after we left the Wind Tribe, I—” Suddenly, they heard a high pitched scream. It was Sakura’s for sure. The three of them immediately took off west in the direction of the scream. 

They quickly reached a clearing where the medical supply storage was. There, they saw Sakura cowering behind a rock around half her size as an ethereal looking tiger growled at her. One could see one right through it and its form was unstable. It was obviously a spirit that had been summoned and gone awry.

“Sakura!” Corrin called. He drew his sword and charged forward at the apparition, ready to bring his blade down on it. The tiger turned on its hind feet and vanished, reappearing closer to Sakura. The princess screamed and looked around for more cover, but there was none to be found. Swallowing her fear, she quickly stood up and ran away. 

Swinging again and again, Corrin could not seem to land a hit on the tiger spirit. It would vanish and reappear elsewhere every time the sword came near. It was incredibly frustrating, but less dire now that Sakura was safe.

Suddenly, Hayato appeared with a distressed expression. Corrin took a quick glance at him and came to a conclusion immediately. He looked guilty. 

Hayato’s appearance drew the attention of the tiger spirit. Its guard was down now, allowing Saizo to send a shuriken directly through it’s back. After a roar, its form dissipated into the air. The ninja sighed with his eyes closed, then turning his attention to the culprit.

“I—” Hayato began to explain himself, but was interrupted by Rinkah slapping him in the back of his head.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” she demanded. “Do you know what could have happened if no one was around to get rid of that thing? Sakura could have gotten hurt or worse! What were you thinking?”  
“I don’t know!” Hayato answered. “I just wanted to practice divination but I don’t have any scrolls of my own, so I grabbed some from the armory!”

Furious, Rinkah grabbed hold of Hayato’s ear and pulled. “You idiot! You’re not skilled enough to control a tiger spirit! How could you be so irresponsible?”

Orochi glared daggers at the young boy but decided that Rinkah’s scolding was enough of a punishment. Meanwhile, Corrin was having doubts about Fuga personally recommending Hayato for the army. The boy had likely just joined on a whim. Realizing his mistake in not confronting Fuga about him before departing from the Wind Tribe area, he groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. 

“Gods, I’m so daft…”

“Corrin?” Setsuna frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes. I’m fine, Setsuna.” He smiled down at her and placed a hand on her head. She was not a short girl, but Corrin was fairly tall. “Thank you for worrying about me. Look, I’m going to go deal with this whole thing. Can you wait by the house while I’m gone? I promise I won’t be long.”

With a nod, Setsuna stood on her toes and gave Corrin a kiss. “Yeah, sure. Don’t keep me waaaiting,” she smiled and waved goodbye as she walked back the way they came. Orochi crossed her arms and cocked her hips, looking to Corrin expectantly. 

“There’s going to be some sort of punishment, right? And I’m going to get my stuff back?”

Giving a nod, Corrin turned towards Hayato and Rinkah. The latter was still yelling at the young boy, clearly filled with rage. Corrin cleared his throat and projected his voice. “Hayato!” His shout drew the attention of both of them and he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. He wasn’t very commanding and the last thing that he wanted was to turn Rinkah’s anger on him. “Would you please walk with me for a moment? We won’t be long, Rinkah.”

The Flame Tribe princess shoved Hayato forward and crossed her arms. Hayato nervously began to move towards Corrin, following as the prince began to walk through the area. 

“Be honest with me,” Corrin began. “Fuga didn’t really want you to join us, did he?”

“No,” Hayato answered quietly. 

Corrin sighed and continued to walk forward. “I figured as such. So then why did you lie? What was the point in all of this?”

The young diviner shuffled along slowly with his gaze aimed at the grass beneath him. He felt guilty about lying, but at least he had gained a position in the Hoshidan army as a result. “I just…I wanted to fight, okay? I’ve always wanted to go out and help Hoshido win the war, but Fuga said that we had to remain neutral in everything or else Nohr would just come along and conquer us like they do everything else. Even if we did fight, he probably wouldn’t think that I’m strong enough to be of any real use. I’ve never really been all that good with weapons, so I turned to magic. Even then I could barely do the basics of divination. When you and the rest of the army came along, I figured that it was as good of a chance as I was going to get to actually do something with my life. So yes, I did lie. And I’m sorry.”

Pursing his lips, Corrin pondered on Hayato’s words for a moment. He could not relate to Hayato’s aspiration to fight. Growing up in the Northern Fortress, he had never given much thought as to what he wanted to be. He was not given a choice, after all. For as long as he could remember, Garon had told him that him and his sister were to become generals in the Nohrian military and lead the country to conquest and victory. Conquest and victory, the two things that mattered most to the empire. 

“I see,” Corrin mumbled. “Well, Fuga hasn’t sent for you, so let’s presume that he knows what you did and has decided to allow you to forge your own path in life. That’s good.”  


Hayato looked perplexed by Corrin’s gentle tone and understanding words. He had expected to be scolded or perhaps even discharged. “You’re not going to punish me? Have me removed from the army or something?”  
“No, no. That wouldn’t do any good. All you did was make a mistake.” Corrin stopped walking and Hayato bumped into him, stopping as well. He turned to face the younger boy and gave a tentative smile. “You’re fine, but you shouldn’t steal things that aren’t yours. If you want to practice your magic then I’m sure that Orochi would be happy to teach you. After you apologize, of course.”

Hayato’s wide smile lit up his face. He was incredibly relieved not to have been discharged and now wished to prove his worth even more. “Thank you, Corrin! You have no idea how much I appreciate this! I promise to do my best from here on out! I’ll practice everyday, and with my own scrolls this time!”

Corrin chuckled and nodded in understanding. “Good. That’s what is expected of a good soldier. Now, go give your apologies to Orochi. You are dismissed.”

Hayato ran off happily with a beaming grin on his face. Corrin had thought that he would get mad about being talked down to, but he did not seem to have a problem with it. The prince started back towards his house. He wouldn’t want to keep Setsuna waiting, after all.

\---------------------------------***********************---------------------------------

Meanwhile outside of the Astral Plane and inside of the Castle Krakenburg grounds, there was a brawl occurring.

On the dirt floor of the training grounds, Kamui twisted her body to the side and avoided Silas’ left hook. She retaliated with a quick jab to his side and stepped back, once again making him miss a punch. 

Neither of them were wearing their usual armor. Instead, they both donned relatively thin leather armor that could stop a slash from a somewhat sharp sword. Kamui’s long hair was pulled up into a ponytail and her bangs were glued to her forehead with sweat. Both soldiers were heavily breathing but not stopping to catch their breath. 

With every step Silas took forward, Kamui stepped back. She was fighting defensively just like Xander had advised her. It was a strange approach from her usual hyper aggressive fighting style, but she was finding it preferable now that she did not have a sword to give her a safe range. 

Suddenly, Silas kicked off of the ground and managed to land a punch directly onto Kamui’s nose. She stumbled back and squeezed her eyes shut, wincing in pain. Blinded, she used her above average spatial awareness to stop Silas from approaching by placing her open palm onto Silas’ face and shoving him away. Opening her eyes, she took a long stride forward and wound back, then slamming her foot into her opponent’s side and knocking him down. 

Not bothering to let the pain ease, Silas’ rolled back and sprang to his feet as he panted. He may have been physically stronger than Kamui, but she had far more stamina than him. He smirked and took two short steps forward with a closed fist. Kamui held her arms together to block a jab, but was shocked when Silas suddenly spread his arms and wrapped them around her waist, lifting her high into the air and dropping her almost immediately.

The princess tried to land on her feet but only ended up flailing her limbs in the air. She landed hard on her back and her head slammed into the dirt. She groaned in pain as black spots danced across her vision. “Agh…” 

“Are you alright?” Silas’ asked with a concerned yet smug expression. “I didn’t hurt you too bad, did I?”

“Ugh.” Kamui extended her arm upwards and Silas pulled her to her feet with a smile. “You did, but it’s fine. I don’t mind the pain.”

“Really now? That’s kind of hot.”

“Silas!”

Silas burst out laughing and waved his hands, assuring her that he meant no ill will. “Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t help myself!” 

Kamui was going to scold him further but was interrupted. “Nicely done, Sister. I personally don’t see the benefit in fighting so brutishly, but I’m glad you’re practicing things outside of your comfort zone,” Leo said as he stood up from the bench and approached them along with Elise, Arthur, and Peri.

“If I recall correctly, Lady Kamui was advised by Lord Xander to practice her hand to hand against Sir Silas in case she was ever disarmed,” Arthur told him. Kamui sighed.

“May I request that you all stop referring to me as Lady Kamui? I mean, Jakob will always do it no matter what, but don’t you think it’s a little demeaning for a general? Just call me by my name, please.”  
“Well I’ll always just call you Sister, so.” Leo smirked. “How’s your magic coming along? Nicely I hope.”

The princess nodded. “It’s been adequate. I used some fire magic in my last mission, actually. Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to ask you, Brother. Would you mind if I borrowed some of your old tomes?” she asked. “Weaker ones that you’ve far outgrown. I’d appreciate it if you’d lend some to me.”

“Of course,” Leo responded. “Would anyone else like me to teach them magic? Elise? Peri?”

“No way!” Peri shook her head and stuck out her tongue. “Pointy things give me the most blood, so I’ll stick with those!”

Elise gave an appreciative smile. “Maybe in the future, Leo. I’ll stick to healing people for now! I’m not all that interested in the whole killing people thing. I’ve got Arthur and Effie for that!”  
“Indeed!” Arthur shouted. “I would slay any creature or person who dare threaten Lady Elise! Oh! Um, and the will of Nohr. That too.”

“Oh Kamui!” a smoky voice called from the exit of the training grounds. Leaning to the side so that she could see past Arthur, Kamui smiled at the sight of her older sister. “Father would like to see you in the throne room. I’m guessing you’ll be receiving your next task.” Camilla sighed and placed a hand over her chest. “Oh, I do wish he wouldn’t send you off on such dangerous missions. You could get hurt!” 

“Thank you, Camilla!” Kamui called, beginning a light jog towards her sister and stopping when she reached her. “I’ll be fine, I promise. I have Elise to heal me in case anything bad happens.”

“And what if Elise gets hurt so bad that she can’t do that? Then what?”

Kamui smiled and hugged her sister. Camilla was significantly taller than her, so Kamui rested her head on her chest. “You worry much too often. Here, you come with me to meet with Father so that you can see what he has planned. You can judge for yourself whether or not it’s dangerous.”

Camilla gave a loving smile and began to stroke Kamui’s hair. “Oh, my sweet little sister…oh. Kamui, darling, you’re all sticky. Come, let me give you a bath before we meet Father. He is a king, afterall, and you are a princess. It would be unbecoming of you to meet him in such a condition.”

“Camilla, I’m much too old for you to bathe me. I was too old when I was twelve, as well. I’ll be fine on my own. I promise I won’t drown.” Kamui looked back towards her companions and gave a wave to indicate that she was leaving. They all returned the gesture, except for Silas, who gave a hearty thumbs up.

Not too long after, Kamui and Camilla stepped into the throne room. Kamui found it somewhat upsetting how the past few times she had spoken to her father had been in this room with him always sitting down on his large throne, Iago by his side. Though, Garon had gotten so old that she did not expect him to always be out and about. In fact, he did not do much aside from sit on his throne and work, though it was mostly Iago who handled political matters. 

There had been a time several months before where Kamui had entered the throne room to ask her father a question and Iago was absent. She must have been talking at him for around a minute when she realized that his face was completely blank and he was unresponsive. She was concerned that he had grown senile but decided to keep the information to herself. If word got out that the king’s mind was fading, then there would be an uproar among the country with those in political positions scrambling to replace him, despite the fact that Xander was to replace him immediately upon his death. The prince seemed fully prepared to take on the role. 

Next in line was Camilla, who expressed distaste for taking the throne. She felt as if she would not be a good queen, at least, not one fit for Nohr’s ways. Much to Kamui’s disappointment, her and Corrin were skipped. Camilla used to tell her that it was because they were twins and that Garon did not want there to be any dispute over who got the throne, but Kamui now knew that it was because they were not truly his children. 

After Camilla was Leo. He had said numerous times in the past that if the throne were ever to fall into his hands, he would pass it on to his most prized pupil. It was evident that he was not one that had any desire for power.

“Notre Sagesse,” the king put flatly, eyes closed. “I need you to capture the territory and put it under Nohr’s rule. It is far, so this will likely take you a while. My scouts tell me that there’s a fort along the way that is crawling with Hoshidan soldiers, so don’t be surprised if you have to fight.”

Kamui pursed her lips. She now donned what she usually wore in the castle, a white silk gown that stopped halfway down her thighs. She was a princess, after all, and a princess had to dress the part. “Hoshidan soldiers? I see…”

“Hm?” Garon opened one eye and looked down on his daughter. “You look troubled. Is something the matter, my daughter?”

“N-no!” Kamui quickly shook her head. “Perish the thought, Father. Nothing is wrong.”

The king sighed. “I doubt you will have to fight your brother. Do not worry about that. This will be just like your mission at the Bottomless Canyon, minus the abduction.”

Kamui exhaled and nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. “Thank you, Father. Just know that if we are to ever cross paths, I would treat him just like I would any other Hoshidan. You don’t have to concern yourself over me potentially betraying you like he did.”

“I had not even thought of that,” Garon told her with a chuckle. “Peace, Kamui. I trust you.”

Camilla pulled her grinning sister close to her and hugged her from the side. “Father, you’re allowing those who were with her last time to come with her, right? May I come, too?”

“Ah, but Camilla. I’m afraid that we still need you to train the other wyvern riders in the army. Next time.”

The eldest princess pouted. “Oh, boo.”

“Speaking of. I’m assigning you two additional soldiers to your party. They’re Leo’s retainers, Niles and…Odin, I believe his name is.”

“Odin? Like the god? Well, that’s a peculiar name. But Father, don’t you think it strange that I now have Xander, Elise, and Leo’s retainers with me?” Kamui asked with a frown.

Garon shook his head. “No. Once Camilla joins you, her retainers will be as well. Leo and Xander will join you eventually, too, once they’re done with their own individual tasks.”

Kamui looked confused. He was talking as if he had more plans for her. “Father…? You seem to be planning for something…”

“Why, of course. I am building a frontline army comprised of the strongest warriors in Nohr,” Garon told her in a matter-of-fact tone. “Led by my own daughter. You’ve known since you were a little girl that you were going to be a general one day, have you not? Well, you’re growing your army.”

Kamui’s heart stopped. She hadn’t realized. Her Father was giving her soldiers for her own army. For as long as she could remember, leading an army was what she had aspired towards. She’d been training hard for years with Corrin in anticipation for this moment. “D-do you mean…”

“Yes, Kamui. Or should I say General Kamui?”

Camilla hugged her sister and jumped for joy with jubilous laughter, taking her in the air with her. “Oh, Kamui! It’s finally happened!”

The young woman wanted to cry tears of joy, her lip beginning to quiver. She had been locked away in a dark and isolated fortress for much of her life and now she was going to get to travel the world with an army behind her. She could picture the future, Princess General Kamui leading Nohr to victory with her children and husband (or wife, but she did want children) at her side. It was a glorious image that did actually manage to make her cry.

With salty tears in her eyes, Kamui held her tongue between her teeth to prevent her from screaming with glee. “Thank you, Father. You don’t know how much I appreciate this.”

Iago made a face like he had tasted something sour. Clearing his throat, he began to speak. “Your highness, I implore you not to forget about our plans for the day. We have a meeting, remember?”  
“Of course, of course. Kamui, you are to depart first thing tomorrow morning. Make sure that you’re ready. You are dismissed.”

Camilla and Kamui walked out of the throne room with incredibly happy expressions. The older sister hugged Kamui once again and squealed in excitement as if she had been told that she was getting married. “Oh, Kamui! I’m so proud of you! This is such a big change in your life! I’ve never seen you smile so much.”

“Really?” Kamui asked as she used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Camilla began as she started to play with her little sister’s hair. “Before, you were always so…stoic. You were all about training and keeping up with your studies. It wasn’t like that when you were a little kid, but then you were basically locked in the Northern Fortress and could rarely see me or your other siblings.” She sighed and closed her eyes, reflecting on the past. “It made me sad. My bubbly little sister was suddenly so cold. I’m glad you’ve changed.”

Kamui pursed her lips and thought about Camilla’s words. Now that she thought about it, she was indeed acting much less stoic than she used to. Why had she loosened up so much? Was it because she finally got to spend time with her siblings? Was it because she was making friends? That had to be it, yes. Spending years alone with only Corrin to keep her company must have shifted her personality in some way and now that he was gone, she was allowing her true colors to show. It was ironic. Corrin was always complaining about how serious she was when it had been his fault in the first place  


“Yes,” Kamui said with a smile. “I suppose you’re right.” 

And with that, the sisters continued on down the hall and said their goodbyes, the young princess preparing for the long day ahead of her.


	9. Vacillation

Kamui found Leo’s choice in retainers to be…questionable. 

Niles and Odin were certainly an interesting pair with competent combative capabilities, but their personalities threw the princess off. Niles seemed to have an affinity for both inflicting and receiving pain and would oftentimes make unusual comments of a sexual nature. Meanwhile, Odin was an eccentric spellslinger dressed in ancient Nohrian mage’s robes, the kind that one would see in a museum or old painting. He frequently spoke of the grandiose feats that he had achieved and also of a cursed hand, though Laslow assured everyone that he was simply insane. The two apparently knew each other since they were children. 

“Think he’ll go crazy and start shooting off lighting bolts at us in the middle of the battle?” Silas jested to Kamui with a smile. The convoy had taken them only so far, meaning that she and the rest of the army had to walk the remaining distance. Silas sat upon his horse with Jakob behind him bearing an incredibly dissatisfied expression. He had offered to allow Kamui to ride with him, but Peri got upset because she had asked first. Kamui sat behind the quirky girl with her arms around her waist, her heart beating much faster than usual as a result of having such close contact with the girl. It would be difficult for Effie to ride with Elise due to her large armor and she had no problem being on her feet, so Effie walked by her liege’s side while Laslow road on the horse. Odin and Niles lead the group with confidence in their struts. 

Kamui snickered slightly and shook her head at Silas. “Oh, don’t be rude. I’m sure he’s fine. Leo trusts him, afterall.”

“Maybe, but your brother’s weird, too. He’s always got his nose in some book and has questionable social skills.”

“What? Leo’s fine! Just because he enjoys reading does not make him  _ weird _ .”

“He reminds me of someone I know back home,” Laslow added. Kamui winced, having not realized that he was in earshot. “Very studious, always has a book, you know. My guy even wears a big mage’s hat. They’d get along.”

Silas leaned in with interest. “You know, I’m really curious to know more about where you and Odin come from. You said that it’s not on the continent, right? Where is it? What’s it called?”

Kamui lightly slapped his shoulder. “Silas, don’t be rude! Hasn’t he made it clear that he would rather not talk about it? Gods, you need to learn to read social cues.”

“Laslow says I’m good at that,” Peri pointed out. “Not other social aspects, though. He bullies me.”

“I do not bully you!” Laslow protested. “I simply try to make you better at blending in while warning others of how dangerous you are!”

“I’m not dangerous! I’m harmless towards anyone that isn’t an enemy!”

“Everyone is an enemy to you, Peri!”

Jakob loudly cleared his throat to stop the argument before could escalate any further. “Lady Kamui. Ahead.”

A few dozen meters in front of the band was a stone fortress that was quite large in size. Of course, no fortress would ever come close to the sheer spectacle and height of the Northern Fortress, but Kamui was impressed regardless. The stone walls and archer towers stood high and mighty and appeared to be durable. The princess had no issue seeing why her father would want to claim this fort for himself. 

Kamui scrunched her nose. Seemingly built into the fort were what appeared to be several large arcing structures that formed somewhat of a tunnel. The structures were white and looked to be made of ivory. Nearby, several long cylindrical shapes stuck out from the dirt. Another large white structure lied in the distance, but Kamui could not quite make out what it was.. 

“Why is it built like that?” she asked.

“It used to be a dragon. What, you’ve never heard of it?” Niles asked with a smug smile. Despite his rank, he seemed to not be concerned about respecting the princess. “Rumor has it that this dragon was incredibly powerful. When it died and decayed, its skeleton was incorporated into this fortress because of how strong it was.”

“Ooh, that’s so cool!” Elise said with a wide smile. 

“Indeed, it is very cool!” Odin agreed, then stretching his fingers before and tightly closing his palm. “However, what is not cool is the fact that it is inhabited by Hoshidans. Have a gander at the imposing archer’s tower!” 

Kamui looked to the sky and caught a glimpse of a dark red shape at the top of the tower. She recognized the Hoshidan military uniform and grimaced with dread. Despite the fact that she was warned of enemies, she held onto hope that she would not have to fight.. She was still sore from the previous day’s brawl against Silas and the idea of exerting herself any more than she needed to annoyed her. Making a mental note to scold the knight for being so rough with a lady, she drew her sword and took a step forward.

“We’re going to try diplomacy first,” she told everyone. “If they refuse, then you know what we must do.”

“Diplomacy from Nohr?” Silas asked with a smirk. “They won’t be expecting that. Last time Nohr offered up conversation instead of battle, look what happened.”

“Silas, stop talking,” Kamui commanded as she adjusted her armor before beginning to march forward. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm herself. “Alright, I can do this,” she whispered to herself. She rapidly taped her finger against her waist guard in an attempt to calm her nerves. 

Kamui had only gone up against the Hoshidan army once before and had no qualms about it. They were the enemy, after all. However, now that her own brother was on their side, it was going to be far more difficult to carry out her mission with a clear conscious. She was now actively fighting against family, something that she would never in a million years want to do…

Closing her eyes, she reminded herself that Corrin was no longer family. He had forfeited his title as Nohrian prince and thus forfeited the right of being called her brother. The princess banished the thought from her mind and marched even further forward, leading her party behind her.

It did not take long for the first Hoshidan to notice them. It was a female archer perched upon the tower that seemed tired but quickly sprung to life when she saw the familiar dark colors of Nohr led by the white shape of their commander. She grabbed a horn resting on the wall and took a deep breath, then blowing into it with all of the air in her lungs. 

“The enemy approaches! Prepare for battle!” 

All around the fortress, weapons were grabbed and armor was donned. Realizing that they were as eager to fight as her own country usually was, Kamui quickly held one hand up and addressed them. 

“Hold! We do not wish to fight! Please, I seek a word with your commander!” she shouted, trying her hardest to not allow her voice to waver. 

The archer looked down on them with a glare before nocking an arrow in her bow. “You will speak to me! State your business!”

Kamui raised an eyebrow. She was to negotiate with what looked like a low ranking archer? “Ah…I am General Kamui, princess of Nohr! I—”

With a look of disgust, the archer glanced back at her comrades before once again turning her attention to Kamui. “You. You’re the one who betrayed us? Despicable! I should kill you where your stand!”

Niles nocked an arrow in his own bow and whispered to Kamui. “Should I just shoot her down now? She  _ did _ just threaten you.”

“No. Hold all action until I say so,” Kamui ordered. She took a deep breath and continued to speak. “We wish to bring this fortress under Nohrian control! Surrender now and you will all be permitted to return to your homes without harm!”

“You wish to claim what is rightfully ours and don’t expect a fight? My, you’re even more foolish than I expected!” The archer laughed, as did many of the Hoshidan soldiers. “Turn away at once or prepare yourself for battle!”

Kamui sighed. It was regrettable, but unavoidable. Relaxing the muscles in her hand, she nodded her head and gave the order. 

“Assume the same formation we discussed earlier. Do not deviate.”

The army began to march forward with their weapons at the ready. The archer aimed her arrow down, but was struck in the arm the instant she did by Niles’ own arrow. Before she could get a chance to react, another arrow pierced her neck and she tumbled off of the tower, choking on her own blood as she plummeted to the ground. 

Niles was quick as well as accurate; Kamui noted that he would be a valuable asset to the army. Everyone scattered and spread out in different directions. The purpose of this formation was to first surround the area and then close in on the center, taking out any enemy in their way. According to the war books that Kamui had read, this tactic had proven successful time and time again in past wars. She figured that some tactician would have come up with a way to combat it by now, but evidently that had not happened. 

Kamui took a quick glance in Odin’s direction and appeared to be impressed. He was effortlessly slinging both fire and lightning around the battlefield and enjoying himself greatly, for every move he made was exaggerated and oozing with flair. Near him, Laslow was in a duel with a swordsman and Peri was laughing as she swung her lance around, seemingly not caring who she hit. It seemed as if Laslow was right; she did in fact possess an odd attitude in battle. Kamui hoped that it would not become an issue in the future. 

Suddenly, Kamui’s side was met with the handle of an axe. She was knocked to the ground in an instant and had the air abruptly ejected from her lungs. She cursed herself for letting her mind wander in the middle of a battle and rolled out of the way of an oncoming axe swing. The princess sprung to her feet and looked upwards, grimacing at the sight before her.

Kamui could be considered a short woman, but the man before he would have towered before even Xander. He was built like a wall, was wearing heavy armor similar to that of Effie’s, and his head was covered with a red steel helmet. Clearly the Hoshidans had specifically sent this soldier to deal with Kamui. After all, if the leader was defeated, then the entire force would fall apart. 

She looked around to see if anyone was near her for assistance, but all of her soldiers were either occupied or too far away. “Damn it,” she whispered. 

The enemy soldier took a heavy step forward and seemed to shake the very ground itself as he walked. Kamui swung her Yato at him and gasped when it simply recoiled back, harmlessly bouncing off of the armor.  _ What?!  _ she thought to herself.  _ A legendary weapon can’t even make a dent in some Hoshidan armor? What kind of sword is this?  _

She had to dash back to avoid the swing of the axe blade. It was a large axe with a peculiar design, clearly meant for someone of a high rank. In fact, it looked more Nohrian in nature than Hoshidan. The handle was long and had a scarlet red coloration, as did the sharp blade whose blunt end curled off into hooks at its ends. 

The weapon as well as the armor was clearly heavy, which Kamui could tell because of her assailant’s slow yet powerful movement. He withdraw the axe from the ground and simply continued to walk forward, his menacing presence striking fear into the young princess as she backed away more and more. She now knew that her sword was ineffective and she doubted that she could do much as a dragon. After all, her horns and claws were much more dull than the Yato.

Suddenly, she had an idea. Not bothering to think of whether or not it would work, Kamui let out a battle cry and drew her arm back before slamming the blade of her sword into the Hoshidan’s helmet. The ringing of the metal undoubtedly hurt him, evident by his screaming and clutching his helmet. Letting her instincts take over, the dragon took hold of her left arm and tightly grit her teeth, her arm beginning to take the shape of something else. In an instant, the lower half of her arm had been replaced by a large reptilian maw with several huge sharp teeth. At the back of the maw, a small sphere of vibrant blue began to manifest itself and grew bigger and bigger as the maw widened itself. Eventually it was the size of the marble spheres in Castle Krakenburg’s statue garden. Finally, the jaws tightly shut and the sphere shot out at a high velocity, slamming into the armored foe just as he began to recover.

He was blown back several meters immediately and skid across the ground, his armor leaving path in the dirt. Kamui began to charge another blast and fired it off as he began to stand up, hitting him again. She didn’t know exactly  _ what  _ she was shooting. It had the properties of water, in practice was more akin to the raging waves of a hurricane condensed into a ball. She had done this only once before to Hans when she was consumed by rage over Gunther’s death. She did not know what she was doing then, but she seemed to have it under control now.

However, Kamui knew that this would not be enough. Her attacks was only keeping her enemy at bay as opposed to actually hurting him. She couldn’t pierce his armor nor could she strip it away, so what was a girl to do? Her limited level of magic would not work, especially considering that she didn’t have a—

“Tome!” Kamui called, her arm beginning to shift back to normal. “Odin, one of your tomes! Pass it to me!”

“As you wish, milady!” Odin responded. He was quite a distance away, but saw Silas racing towards him on his horse. The mage grinned and held out his hand with a spare tome in it, the knight grabbing it as he continued racing on towards his commander.

It did not take long for him to reach her. Silas gave a smile and said “Good luck!” as he passed the tome on to her, continuing to advance forwards with his sword in hand. 

Kamui grinned to herself and quickly checked the large book. She was used to fire magic, but this one was a lightning tome. “You can work with this. You’ve got this,” she whispered to herself, flipping open to the center of the book. Leo had told her to focus on the incantations written on the page and envision the spell happening in front of her. She had managed to do basic fire spells in the past with minimal struggle, but electricity was an entirely different school of magic. 

The princess squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to concentrate. She pictured the page burning away and electricity cackling down her arm and out through her hand, flying towards the heavily armored soldier. She saw it surging through the metal and electrocuting him, falling down lifeless as the large weapon rolling out of his hand.

“ _ Mjölnir!!! _ ” she cried out. She began to feel a tingling sensation in her fingers as if she had just experienced a shock from touching a charged doorknob. Opening her eyes, she bore witness to bolts of electricity spiraling across the entirety of her arm and coalescing in the center, forming a small vortex of lightning. With a wide grin, she shouted and shoved her arm forward. Lightning shot out as if they originated from the clouds themselves, jumping from Kamui’s arm to the soldier’s highly conductive armor.

The electricity did not linger. With a single shot, the soldier tensed up before going limp and falling back into the ground. His helmet rolled across the ground for a few moments but quickly stopped due to the rough dirt. As she approached him, Kamui saw that her assailant’s eyes were still open. His blue pupils were extremely dilated and his skin had burned severely. It seemed like her lightning blast had burned quite hot. She was somewhat surprised by the fact that her assailant had been just young man. He looked to be even younger than herself, making him surely under twenty. The princess frowned, picturing her other half in this very state. If she was only a beginner at magic and could do this much to such a powerful foe, then someone skilled could do much,  _ much  _ worse.

Kamui screamed as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped forward and turned around with her sword extended, her eyes wide with fear. Her guard was lowered when she saw that it was only Jakob looking concerned. 

“Jakob! Don’t…don’t sneak up on me like that, please.”

“I called your name before,” he said with a frown. “You looked despondent. Are you alright?”

She swallowed and quickly nodded, looking around before sheathing her sword. “Yes, I’m fine. The battle is over so quickly?”

“It wasn’t difficult,” Jakob said as he took out a dirty handkerchief and began to wipe off the blood from his dagger. “My assumption is that there weren’t many here because it is not an important fort for the Hoshidans. They must have simply wanted to defend it from us.”

“I see…well, let us be going then.” Kamui picked up the Hoshidan soldier’s peculiar axe and hoisted it over her shoulder, beginning to walk back as her party reconvened. Laslow did not look satisfied with his actions and cleaned the blood from his sword with discontent. Kamui figured that he was not the type of man to take pride in killing. Next to him, Peri happily hummed a tune as she recklessly flicked blood from her lance without a care in the world. Niles placed his foot on the chest of a corpse and pulled an arrow from its neck with a smirk. Elise was mending a ghastly wound on Arthur’s back. It seemed that he had been caught with an axe, something that Kamui herself had almost fallen victim to.

The princess admittedly felt uneasy as she walked back. There were corpses all around her littering the area with their ugly presence. Some had been stabbed and bled out, others dismembered, and others had taken arrows to vital areas. Several of them had even been charred by Odin’s fire tomes. The sight of it all made Kamui want to retch, but she knew she had to maintain her proper respectable image. It bothered her that they were to simply leave the corpses to rot away or be taken by the elements. However, this was war, and there was no cleaning up the bodies. Not for the victors, at least. The rest of Hoshido’s army would arrive and have to retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades themselves. 

A dark thought crept its way into Kamui’s mind. Would…would that happen to Corrin? Would his army be bested by Nohr’s own? Kamui’s homeland was not one to take prisoners or easily accept surrenders. If Corrin was to fall in battle, would his body be lying on the dirt for days and be picked at by crows? Did Hoshido even have crows? What if he fell down in the middle of a large battle and was trampled to death by cavalry? No one would know that he died for hours. He would just be laid out on the ground with his life slowly coming to an end, probably calling out for his twin sister with tears staining his face.

Kamui felt sick. 

* * *

Much to the princess’ dismay, she could not keep down her breakfast for long. The moment her and her army passed over to the Astral Plane, she ran behind a tree and vomited. She had only puked two or three times in her life previously and she hated it. She hated the retching and she hated the heaving and she hated the bile burning her throat. She also hated looking at it when she was done, so she kept her eyes shut the whole time. 

“Gods…” she mumbled and stood at her feet. The taste in her mouth made her want to die. Turning around to head towards the watering hole, she was startled by Peri standing before her with Laslow. Both of her comrades were frowning, their concern for her made clear by the look on their faces.

“My apologies…I wish you hadn’t seen that.”

“That wasn’t your first real war battle, was it?” Laslow asked. “You fought Hoshidans at the Bottomless Canyon. You didn’t spare everyone, did you?”

“Of course not,” Kamui responded as she pursed her lips. “That would be foolish.”

Peri smiled. “So you killed them! Then what’s got you so sick now? It’s not like you haven’t seen this kind of stuff before.”

“It’s just…” The princess thought for a moment. Did she really have to explain herself to two of her subordinates? What was the point? “I did not think about it at that time. I didn’t pay attention to the bodies around me. I must not be good with gore. I’ll get over it eventually, I promise. It’s unbecoming of me as a leader to be reduced to vomiting after one fight.”

The gray haired man shrugged and shook his head in disagreement. “You don’t have to ‘get over it’. You just have to learn to live with it, I suppose. It’s not something that’s been easy for me, and I’ve been fighting for a long time. Before I joined your brother, actually, I fought in another war. I was still a kid then and had to learn to come to terms with all the killing that I had to do…you never really get used to it. Unless you have an undying sense of justice like Arthur, get off on it like Peri, or don’t care like Niles, it just won’t happen.”

“What?! Laslooow! That’s gross!” Peri whined, shoving Laslow to the side. “At least I don’t strike out with every girl I flirt with!”

“You don’t flirt with anyone!” Laslow retorted with a shove of his own. Kamui covered her mouth and giggled. She enjoyed seeing these two bicker and banter since it always lightened her mood. She briefly wondered how they got along when they initially met and figured that it must not have been much different. 

Thankfully, Laslow’s words had calmed her nerves and alleviated some doubts that she was having. “Either way, thank you, Laslow. You’ve been doing this far longer than I have, so I’ll take your word for it.”

“Kamui!” Silas called as he jogged towards the three of them. He had just finished up putting his horse in the stables and bore a strained expression. He slowed his pace and came to a stop in front of his fellow soldiers, hunching over in order to catch his breath. “Hey, I’ve got to talk to you. Hi, Peri. Hi, Laslow.”

“Talk to me? About what?” Kamui inquired. Silas shook his head in response and chose to take her hand instead of answering. The princess’ face went beet red; she wasn’t used to people that weren’t family touching her. With little resistance, Kamui was dragged several metres until they were out of earshot of Laslow and Peri. “Silas, tell me. What kind of knight are you? You just forcibly moved your commander—and a princess no less—without her permission.”

Silas raised his eyebrow and squinted as if she had just spoken gibberish. “What? You may be both of those things, but you’re Kamui first and foremost. You’re my friend. Anyway, we have a problem. “

“A problem?” Kamui asked, suddenly on guard. “A problem like what? Is there an enemy among us? Did one of my brother’s soldiers somehow wander into our territory?” She shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “No. Lilith made sure we were nowhere near one another…tell me, Silas.”

The knight beckoned for the princess to follow him and he made his way over the stables. “Don’t freak out. Don’t touch your sword. Don’t yell at her.”

“Yell at her? Silas, what are you—”

He quickly opened one of the stable doors and Kamui gasped, covering her mouth. Sleeping on a pile of hay in the corner of the stable was a short girl with a youthful appearance and a peaceful expression, her breathing soft and steady. She had brown hair set in pigtails with white flowers on the base of each one. The girl clearly was from a poor class, evident by the low quality cloak draped around her shoulders. 

Kamui glared at Silas. “What is this?! Where did she come from? Explain right now, Silas!”

Silas shushed her and held his hands up in defense. “Hey, don’t blame me right off the start! I just found her like this when I went to go put Agro away! I don’t know how she got here!”

“What, she just  _ appeared  _ in the stables of another dimension? Wait. Could she be a dragon as well? No, that’s impossible. Lilith told me that Corrin and I were the only ones. Girl!” 

The sleeping girl jolted up and squealed as she awoke, whipping her head around before her eyes locked on to the two soldiers before her. “O-oh no! Someone found me!” She quickly rose to her feet and bowed several times, dusting off her clothes. “My most humble apologies! I—wait…are you Princess Kamui?”

“State your name and how you got here at once!” Kamui demanded. 

“M-Mozu Mei, your highness! I wandered through an odd looking passage and found myself in the middle of all of this! I didn’t know what to do, so I’ve been hiding for about a day!”

“A day?! Where did you find this passage?”

“On the outskirts of my village, your highness! Ah…I was leaving because some monsters killed everyone in it…”

With wide eyes, Kamui mentally punched herself.  _ Idiot,  _ she thought. “I must not have closed the door once we killed all those Faceless yesterday…Silas! Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“I can’t win with you, can I?”

“You’re the ones that killed all the monsters?” Mozu asked. “A group of soldiers came by after I had left and I watched them fight. Oh, oh yes! I recognize your sword, your highness!” She smiled widely and bowed once again as Kamui silently placed a hand on the Yato. “Thank you so much for avenging my friends and family! I can’t express my gratitude enough!”

“Mozu.” Kamui let the name hang on her tongue for a while. Coming to a realization by the phonetics of the name and the history of the village they were in, she frowned. “You’re Hoshidan.”

Mozu nodded. “Yes, I am! I know that our countries don’t really get along, but you slew all those monsters, so—”

“You can’t stay here.” Kamui told her bluntly. While the village she had been to days prior did not lie within Hoshidan borders, it and the surrounding area were still considered a part of the country. Silas looked at her with a shocked expression. 

“Kamui! Weren’t you paying attention? Everyone in her village is dead; she doesn’t have anywhere to go!” he reminded her. 

Mozu looked concerned, biting her bottom lip. However, she did not complain. “I wouldn’t want to be a burden to you, really. If you don’t want me here, then I can go.”

“Absolutely not!” Silas shouted. “I’m not going to allow you to send some poor young lady out on her own! Kamui, her entire family is gone. Everyone she’s ever known is dead. What kind of person would you be if you just abandoned her?”

Kamui pursed her lips and closed her eyes, taking a long inhale through her nose. “Silas, I don’t think that you—”

“I get that you want to be a good Nohrian general, but that doesn’t mean you have to be like your father.”

The dragon bared her fangs and glared at Silas with her vibrant red eyes. The knight was taken slightly aback by the anger that burned within them. “You know what? Fine. You.” She sharply turned her head towards Mozu and gestured towards the armory. “Grab a weapon. You’re a part of my army now.”

Mozu gasped and stumbled back. “M-me?! Apart of an army? Oh no, I could never fight! The only things I know how to do are tend crops, cook, and sew!”

“Do you want to stay here or not? Silas, you’re training her. She’s your responsibility.” 

Silas bit the inside of his cheek with an apprehensive expression. “You want me to…train her?”

“You don’t want her on her own? Then this is what we’re doing. She can use whatever weapon she wants and whatever armor she wants. She can even heal if it fits her better, but I won’t have dead weight on my military base. As long as she’s here, she’ll contribute.”

Without giving either of them a chance to respond, Kamui turned around and marched away. Silas had annoyed her. Who was he to think that he could argue against his superior? She could have him discharged for insubordination or even executed for disrespecting a member of the royal family. However, she knew that Silas was almost as stubborn as she was. She could not blame him too much. Maybe she was acting slightly rash…but comparing her to her father? Absolutely not.

In the past, Garon had proven himself eager to execute his ability  _ to  _ execute. The maid that Kamui had been infatuated with as a child had been executed for merely stealing one of Camilla’s necklaces that she had left in the fortress during a visit. There was a boy that Corrin had taken an interest in who would occasionally visit the fortress to deliver books and other things that was put to the guillotine after not bowing to Garon and claiming that he didn’t feel it necessary. Nohr’s king was cruel and unreasonable. Kamui could at least explain her reasoning for her actions. 

Garon may have been cruel, but he was most definitely becoming friendlier. Kamui figured it was because she had made him proud with her victories, but Camilla had pointed out that she herself had also been friendlier. More expressive, at least. It was probably because she no longer had Corrin there to annoy her. That had to be it. She had to be the serious one since he was immature, so now she could let her true colors show since he was gone. She smiled at the thought and continued to walk towards her place of residence, the large house in the high branches of a giant tree.

When she arrived, Kamui placed her hand on the dragon vein at the base of her tree’s trunk and was bathed in a heavenly beam of light, disappearing from the field and reappearing in her bedroom. She smiled and knelt before the trunk at the bed’s side, taking out her nightgown and placing it on the mattress. She began to undress, first removing her flowing blue cape and then her waist guard. Her shin guards and the armor on her arms were next to go. She then reached behind herself and unfastened the straps of the main armor around her torso, letting out a sigh of relief when it fell to the ground. Her armor was somewhat constricting and she imagined that the feeling of freedom she felt when removing it was similar to how Camilla must have felt whenever she removed her brassiere at the end of the day.

The princess chuckled as she looked at her armor. She had designed it herself yet still had complaints about it. The lack of armor on the inner parts of her upper thighs allowed for more free movement, but also acted as a weak spot. The bodysuit under it also was embarrassing and not at all modest, so she never took off her armor in front of people that weren’t Corrin. The funny part was how it matched her colors as a dragon. She hadn’t yet questioned how it remained intact whenever she transformed, as did her bodysuit, but the bodysuit would tear when only partially transforming. It was unchanged when she completely turned into a dragon.

Kamui sprouted two draconic wings from her back and they went right through the holes in her bodysuit in the area around her shoulder blades. She sighed and retracted them; she would have to modify her armor if she wished to use them during battle. She couldn’t fly, of course the wings were too small to lift her in the air, but they were durable and she could possibly use them to whip up dirt or hit an opponent.

With a shrug, she continued to undress and began to slip the bodysuit from her shoulders, only to stop when she spotted a familiar pair of blonde curls in her bathroom doorway, the face of its owner a deep red. 

“ELISE!!!” Kamui screamed and grabbed her nightgown from the bed, covering her body. “What in the name of the gods are you doing?!”

“I—I was trying to scare you!” Elise responded and covered her eyes. “I was hiding in your bathroom, but when I peeked out to see if your back was turned, you were taking your armor off!”

“Then why were you standing there watching me?!”

“I froze! I’m sorry!”

“Get back in the bathroom!”

Elise ducked back into the bathroom with a squeal and her elder sister sighed, shaken by her voyeurism. Kamui finished undressing and slipped on her undergarments and nightgown, clearing her throat and forcing the red tint out of her cheeks. 

“It’s fine now. I’m dressed.”

Nohr’s youngest princess slowly returned to the room, awkwardly stroking one of her curls. “...Sorry. Again.”

“You could have at least made a sound.”

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal! You changed with Corrin all the time and you used to bathe with Camilla!”

“That’s different!” Kamui said quickly. “Corrin and I are twins and I was a child when I was bathed with Camilla.”

Elise pouted. “What, are you saying that your relationship with Corrin was more intimate?”

“Don’t say it like that! But…we were close. Closer than either of us were to any of you,” Kamui mumbled and hugged herself, looking down at the floor. “You know that…how did you even get up here in the first place?”

“I can use dragon veins too, you know. Anyone with royal blood can, remember? I was half expecting to see Silas come up here with you,” Elise responded with a giggle, happily stepping closer to her sister. “You two seem pretty friendly with each other! Are you interested?”

Kamui rolled her eyes and sat down on her bed. “No, Elise, I am not interested. I’m the leader of an army; I don’t have time to be worried about things like romance. I can get to that after this war is over.”

The blonde skipped over to the bed and plopped down next to Kamui. “Ok! So should I just tell him that you’re not into men, or—”

“What?!” Kamui quickly put her hand over her little sister’s mouth and pushed her head into the mattress, Elise laughing the whole time. She then remembered that no one else was around and removed her hand, still glaring at Elise. “Where did you get that idea from?”

“Oh come on, Kamui! You were staring at all the girls in the village we passed through this morning! And the maids back when we were younger? You’ve never even shown any interest in boys. Come on, you don’t have to be embarrassed. It’s nothing to be ashamed of!” Elise threw her arms up in the air and then hugged her sister with a giggle. “I still love and accept you. You know, I have a friend in Windmire who’s a lesbian!”

Kamui cringed at the usage of that word, gently pushing Elise off of her. “Elise, I’m not a lesbian. I still like men. I just prefer girls. God, why am I having this conversation with you? I expected it to be with Xander. Or Camilla, seeing as how I she’s likely in the same boat I am.”

“You think so?”

“Possibly,” Kamui answered with a nod. “I may be misinterpreting things, but she seems to go both ways. What about you, Elise?”

“Me?” Elise giggled, shaking her head. “Oh, I don’t know! Effie is pretty cute, but I don’t think I’d go that far.”

“Aw, you don’t want to join the club with your older sisters? Come on, it can be a party with just the three of us!” Kamui chuckled and ruffled Elise’s hair before pulling her into a hug and wrestling her into the bed, the two sisters having a laughing fit together. 

“Hey hey, do you mind if I sleep in here tonight?” Elise asked. “Effie snores really loudly and I had trouble getting to sleep last night! Please? I would just have to grab my nightwear and toothbrush.”

Kamui nodded and released Elise from her grasp, the young princess bouncing to her feet and clapping. “Of course. Just don’t take too long.” Elise nodded and touched her hand down on the dragon vein insignia in the middle of the room, warping away and leaving Kamui alone. Kamui smiled and got into bed, putting herself under the covers and closing her eyes with a smile. It felt good to get along with her little sister for once.

* * *

Lately, Kamui had been unsure of herself.

She was unsure of whether or not her decision to return to Nohr was the right one. She was unsure if following Garon’s orders was just. She was unsure if anything her country did was just. She was also unsure of where she should sit for breakfast. 

Her associates had divided themselves into groups. Elise sat at the table nearest the door to the mess hall with her retainers, happily dining on her eggs and waffles. Behind her sat Silas, Peri, and Laslow. Jakob sat across from Mozu with his eyes closed as he sipped his tea while Niles and Odin sat together, the latter seeming to have been telling Niles an epic tale. 

Lilith had conjured up an entire mess hall full of food and ingredients for the army to use as they pleased, much to Kamui’s pleasure. Peri had made breakfast by herself today and had been praised by everyone for her culinary talents. 

“Kamui, come here!” Laslow called from the table and beckoned the princess over with his hand. Kamui was nervous about having to make a choice, but luckily Laslow had made it for her. With a smile, she walked over to their table and sat down, placing her tray on the table.

“Yes? Do you need me for anything?”

“On a scale of one to ten, how attractive would you rank me?”

The princess tilted her head as Silas attempted to hold in his snickering, shaking his head. “Humor him,” he said. 

“That is…an odd question to ask your superior.”

“Then I’m asking you as a friend. Be honest, I can take it,” Laslow said confidently.

Kamui stared at the face of her soldier. He was handsome indeed, with a well defined bone structure and finely kept appearance. “Hm…I suppose I would say…seven?”

Laslow clapped with a grin. “That’s fair! Now, Silas.”

“Three.”

“Hey!” Silas exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. “You didn’t even think about it!”

Kamui giggled and covered her mouth with her hands. “I’m joking. You’re a seven as well, Silas. You don’t have to be self conscious.”

“Now what about me?” Peri asked with a perky grin. “Laslow said that I’m a six and Silas agreed! I think I’m much cuter!”

“You?” Kamui asked. “Why, I’d say you’re a nine!”

Silas crossed his arms and rolled his eyes while Peri happily cheered. “Oh, it figures you’d give higher points to the girl. That’s sexist, Kamui. You shouldn’t let your sexual preferences interfere in these kinds of judgements!” 

Kamui felt the blood drain from her face. A feeling of mortification washed over her the moment Silas closed his mouth. Laslow had made teasing comments like that in the past, but what Silas had just said seemed to be a definitive statement.

“Who told you that?! Elise? What, does everyone know now?”

“Pretty much,” Laslow responded as he took a sip from his cup. “Don’t worry about it. Even if someone here were prejudiced, it’s not as if they would ever ridicule their commander for it. I’m sure you could have them executed since you’re a princess, too.” The man tapped his foot for a moment and looked up. “Hm…you know, I know another girl like you. If you’re ever looking for a relationship, I’m sure I can get her to bite.”

“Great,” Kamui mumbled, resting her head on the wooden table. “My little sister has spread my sexuality around like a plague. What’s this going to do to my reputation?” 

Peri gave the princess a reassuring pat on the back with an optimistic grin. “Don’t worry, Kamui! I like girls, too, if it makes you feel any better!”

“Oh, do you now?” Laslow asked. “Well Kamui, you’re in luck! Your little crush on Peri here might actually turn into something!” 

While he and Silas both laughed, Kamui bared her fangs at him and growled. The intimidation tactic stopped both men in their tracks and put looks of fear on their faces. “Yeesh. For someone so short, you sure do have a temper. So much anger in that little body of yours.”

“Do you want to keep testing me? You’ve already annoyed me on several occasions, Silas. You don’t have many chances left.”

“Aw! That’s not any way to talk to your best friend!”

Kamui scarfed down her food and slammed her tray down on the table before firmly standing up and taking a deep breath. “I have a short fuse. You know this. Don’t ignite it.” Before Silas got a chance to respond, she marched off and over to Elise’s table. The young princess looked up at her older sister with an oblivious smile, showing her bright white teeth.

“Good morning, Kamui! Need something?” Elise asked. 

“May I speak to you for a moment alone, please? There’s something I have to ask you about.”

Elise tilted her head and her eyes lit up when the topic at hand popped into her mind. “Oh, are you going to ask me about the whole ‘you liking girls’ thing? I just wanted to make sure that no one said anything insensitive! I wouldn’t want anyone to make you feel uncomfortable, you know?”

“Ah, how noble a liege I have,” Arthur said before taking his eggs into his mouth, chewing with as much vigor and enthusiasm as a lumberjack would have chopping down a tree. 

Kamui bit her lip and awkwardly rubbed her arm. Her sister obviously had good intentions, but the implications worried her. If word were to get out to anyone outside of the army then Kamui might be seen as an immoral and degenerative woman unfit to lead to army; she had her image to maintain. 

“I appreciate the thought, but I would be grateful if you would keep things like this to yourself in the future. They can be little secrets shared between sisters as opposed to things known by entire army. You can do that for me, yes?”

Elise frowned and began to feel guilty. “Was that a bad thing that I did? I’m sorry, I didn’t know that it meant that much to you. I can tell everyone to forget about it if you want!”

“No no, there’s no need for that. Just be more mindful next time, okay?”

She nodded and grinned once again, giving Kamui two thumbs up. “Yup, got it! I won’t go blabbing my mouth anymore!”

“Good,” Kamui stated. “We’ll continue heading forward once everyone is finished eating. Don’t take too long.” She walked away towards the door and sighed, leaning on the wall next to it and looking out over her small army.

She had certainly amassed more than she expected for what was still her first month as a general. She had picked up Silas and Mozu by chance, even. Then there was her siblings’ retainers, Jakob, and Elise. Garon had said that Camilla’s retainers would also be joining her next time, so that was two more. Kamui counted eleven soldiers here and Camilla’s retainers would make thirteen once they joined her. She briefly wondered if she would reach twenty and smirked.

Any other Nohrian company had well over thirty soldiers among its ranks, but this was supposed to be the best of the best warriors Nohr had to offer. Laslow and Peri were even hand picked by the king himself. Once Xander joined them, they would certainly be unstoppable. It was not like they had even come close to losing yet, though.

Kamui let out a melancholic sigh. She hadn’t thought about it since his death because she had been caught up in so much (not being Nohrian born, the death of Queen Mikoto, and being a dragon among other things), but she missed Gunter. He was always like a second father to her, even if he could get quite boring at times with his lectures on the history of Nohr and its past kings and queens. He had acted as her and Corrin’s teacher when they were kids and along with Flora, Felicia, and Jakob, almost never left the Northern Fortress. He practically raised them.

The princess frowned again at the thought of her lost retainers. Jakob and Felicia were the only ones that remained. Flora had run off back to the Ice Tribe and Gunter had been killed at the hands of that scoundrel Hans. 

“Hans,” Kamui said through grit teeth. She hadn’t even thought of him in days. He had escaped her wrath by causing her to tumble into the Bottomless Canyon only to be saved by Lilith, but she had not heard word of him since. Did he flee the country for the attempted murder of two royals or did he return to Garon and lie about the events that had occurred? Kamui would have to ask her father about it upon her return to Windmire. 

Pushing her frustration to the side and saving it for a more useful time, the general turned around and exited the mess hall. It was located only a few metres across from her destination, luckily for her, so she continued on walking forward until she came to a moderately sized cave with an entrance about her twice her size. This was Lilith’s den, the cave in which she slept. Kamui had briefly pondered why she didn’t just sleep in a normal cottage like everyone else but came to the conclusion that as a dragon, she probably preferred natural habitats. Kamui then wondered if she could handle sleeping in a cold and damp cave. 

The light from the skies of the Astral Plane barely shone into the cave, the primary source of illumination being the orb in which Lilith lied on in her sleep. Kamui figured that dragons must sleep a lot since Lilith did not do much else. In fact, she rarely left her den.

“Lilith,” Kamui whispered gently as she knelt down and lightly rocked the sleeping dragon. Lilith’s form looked more like a floating fish than a dragon, but Kamui’s only other point of reference were herself and artistic depictions of the Dusk Dragon to whom she had previously thought herself a descendant of, but since she was not of Nohrian blood, she was truly a descendant of the Dawn Dragon. She had figured that the reason that she was able to transform into a dragon was that she was blessed by the Dawn Dragon along with Corrin, something that had not occurred in centuries.

According to her historical texts, the first royal families could do the same things that she could with their draconic blood. She wondered if the fact that her armor remained intact when she transformed had something to do with these families, but waved off the thought. It would only hurt her head if she were to think about it more.

The small dragon stirred as her eyes slowly opened and she yawned, opening up her maw before blinking several times and slowly floating up into the air on her glowing orb. “Ah, good morning, Kamui. Do you need anything?” she asked groggily.

“Yes, yes. I was wondering if you had spoken to Corrin recently.”

The dragon had been living simultaneously with both Kamui and Corrin, much to the former’s dissatisfaction. Lilith could freely move about the Astral Plane by warping around, so travelling wasn’t an issue. Kamui couldn’t blame her for not choosing a side. It must have been a difficult situation to have a pair of twins whom you’ve watched over for more than a decade suddenly separate. She must have felt like a child whose parents had been divorced.

“Recently? No, I can’t say I have. Whenever he comes here he’s always in his house with one of the women.”

Kamui’s eyes went wide. “Corrin? With a woman? What, is she mad?!”

Lilith giggled and spun on her orb for a moment. “No, no, she’s not mad. She’s a little strange, but still sane. I think they like each other a lot. What about you, hm? You and that Silas boy seem awfully close.”

“Oh for the gods’ sake, Lilith, not you, too. I’m not showing incompetence as a leader by letting myself get caught up in trivial matters such as romance. I’ll focus on my job, thank you very much.” Kamui crossed her arms and upturned her nose in displeasure with her brother’s actions. Despite their falling out, she still felt a sense of disappointment in him. He might not have been the brightest man out there, but she at least expected him to not fall for the first pretty girl who came his way. “Ugh. Either way, what of his siblings? How’s the royal family?”

“Ah…” Lilith slowly retreated back. “I’d feel wrong telling you. Sorry, but it’s not like I tell him your siblings' statuses either. Let’s just say that they’re fine.”

“Fair enough,” Kamui responded with a slight hint of disappointment. She couldn’t expect Lilith to act as a spy. “Are you well enough to travel alongside us now?”

Lilith shook her head sadly. “No, not even close. I’ve only just barely started to recover. It’ll take me months before I’m able to leave, let alone take human form again. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. The time will fly by quickly, trust me.” Kamui bit her bottom lip and began to rub her arm, looking at the cave ceiling. “You don’t have to give much detail, but would you mind at least telling me how Azura is doing? She hasn’t gotten hurt, has she?”

Lilith laughed and shook her head. “She’s fine, Kamui. Don’t worry about it. I promise that if anything bad happens to Corrin or Azura, I’ll tell you as soon as I can.”

“Thank you, Lilith,” Kamui said with a sigh of relief. “We’re heading out now. I’ll come visit you before I go to bed tonight.” She turned around and began to exit the cave, turning back to give her friend a wave. “See you soon, old friend.”

“Bye, Kamui!”

Kamui wondered how old Azura was as she left the cave. Her and Corrin were twenty, had no memories from before they were six, and were taken from Hoshido at the age of two. She assumed that Azura was taken not long after, so maybe she was twenty-three? Twenty-four? No, she couldn’t be older than Xander, who was only twenty-three. Kamui decided that she was likely twenty-two and nodded. She certainly appeared older than Kamui, but she looked young for her age anyway.

Dismissing the thought, Kamui returned to the mess hall and loudly cleared her throat, drawing the attention of everyone in her band of soldiers. They had all finished their meals a while ago and were chatting amongst themselves before Kamui walked in, their attention now fixed on her. 

“Alright, we will be continuing on in ten minutes. Gather your weapons and armor and make sure you’re prepared. I’ll be back to open the portal then.” She turned and stood outside the building as her subordinates exited, Elise giving her a brief hug before running along. Kamui smiled, glad that she was finally growing closer to her little sister. It was unfortunate that it took so much to have that happen, though. 

Silas was the last to exit, stopping in front of the doorway and poking Kamui’s soft cheek to get her attention. She growled at him. “What do you want?” she asked aggressively, Silas smiling in response. 

“You’re riding with me on the way back. No objections.”

Kamui leaned back and squinted her eyes, unsure if she had just heard him correctly. “Are you giving  _ me  _ an order?”

“It’s not an order,” Silas told her as he rolled his eyes. “Your shoes suck and aren’t fit for walking long distances. Those are the shoes of a princess, not a leader. Don’t you think you should have some made that match your armor? Anyway, Elise told me that she saw blisters on your feet last night, so I’m telling you as your friend that you’re riding with me.”

The princess did not look amused. “You want me to ride with you? On your horse? Silas, I’m afraid that that doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Agro doesn’t bite! I like you, so I promise you that he will, too. Come on, just accept it! If you don’t, I’ll just pick you up and set you down on him when we leave.”

“You are  _ not  _ picking me up.”

Silas looked down at Kamui and smirked for a moment as she took a step back. He broke into a wide grin as he reached forward and scooped her up bridal style, laughing as he went. She shouted and protested, kicking her feet before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Don’t drop me, you idiot! Put me down! I swear, I’ll crush you if you don’t let go this instant!”

“Okay!” Silas dropped Kamui and quickly caught her again, lifting her up after she screamed with another jubilant laugh.“You’re really light, you know.”

“SILAS!” Kamui’s voice peaked and she began to attempt to scratch at Silas’ neck in order to force him to unhand her, but to no avail.

The knight’s laughter died off and he slowly set the princess down. Her furious expression threatened to rekindle Silas’ laughing fit, but he forced restraint upon himself. “You should really loosen up more, Kamui. You were way more energetic when you were a kid.”

Kamui glared. Who was he to tell her how to act? “Stop talking. Next time you pull something like that, I’m going to shove the Yato where the sun doesn’t shine. Got it?”

“But will you ride on Agro with me, though?”

With her cheeks flushed pink, Kamui crossed her arms and turned around to continue on walking. “Fine. But don’t try anything funny, you…you womanizing mongrel.”

Silas flashed a toothy grin and proudly followed his general, proud of his achievement. “I’ll melt the ice queen eventually.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter of the year and it's one that's entirely focused on Kamui. What can I say? I love writing this girl. As always, I encourage you to leave your feedback as comments and kudos and have a good one, everybody.


	10. Den of The Shinobi

“_Embrace the dark…you call a home…gaze upon an empty white throne. A legacy of lies, a familiar disguise.” _

As Corrin finished his singing, Azura gave a gentle yet enthusiastic round of applause. The two royals were inside of Corrin’s bedroom in his treehouse, the white haired prince sitting on the edge of his bed while the songstress sat at his desk chair. 

“Very good, Corrin. I’m surprised that you’re learning the lyrics so quickly. You have a very beautiful singing voice, you know. You’ve impressed me.”

Pleased with his praise, Corrin cleared his throat and gave a wide grin. “Thank you, Azura! I’ve been practicing in my free time since the other day. How’s my enunciation?” 

“Perfect. You’re a natural at this.” Azura stood up and moved the navy blue curtain windows to the side, looking down at their comrades gathering around the base of the tree in preparation for further marching en route to Cheve. “We should probably get going. You wouldn’t want them getting any ideas as to what we’re doing up here, would you now? It would be bad if you made Setsuna jealous,” she said with a laugh.

Corrin gave an awkward chuckle in response and rose to his feet, then picked up his Yato from against the wall. “You really think they would? We are siblings, after all.”

“Not technically. Your parents are Queen Mikoto and King Sumeragi, mine are Garon and, well, my mother. We _ would _ be adoptive siblings, but you’ve denounced Garon as your father, have you not?”

The prince thought for a moment before giving a nod. “I suppose you’re right…wait, you know about Setsuna and I?!”

Aqua nearly doubled over attempting to hold back her laughter. “With how close she stays to you? It’s as clear as day, Corrin. Don’t be embarrassed, though. It’s not as if there aren’t other romantic relationships in the army.” She put a finger on her chin and thought for a moment. “I know that Hana and Hinata are in a relationship, as are Saizo and Orochi. And if I’m not mistaken, Oboro is madly in love with your brother, Takumi.”

Corrin was surprised to hear this information and tilted his head. Saizo and Orochi? That was a shock. “Really? Is it…is it normal to date your fellow soldiers like that?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it normal, but there’s no rule against it. As long as things are kept professional on the battlefield, there shouldn’t be an issue.” Azura walked over to the dragon vein on the wooden floor and smiled at Corrin. “Shall we?”

“Yes, we shall.” Corrin approached the woman and stood by her side, placing his hand on the sigil and warping out of his home and onto the grass fields of the Astral Plane. 

Within minutes, Corrin was standing before his army with Azura by his side. He didn’t know why she was next to him almost as much as Setsuna was, but he also did not question it. It felt natural; it felt _ right. _ As if they had been born to stand by each other’s sides. With Azura giving him the confidence to address his soldiers, Corrin could speak loudly and clearly.. 

“Alright, everyone! On our path to Cheve, the area we’ll be passing through land under the jurisdiction of Mokushu. They’re a neutral nation, but it would be foolish to forget how things went in Izumo. If Nohr managed to compromise them, then there’s no telling if they could have gotten to Mokusho as well, though even then it isn’t exactly the same circumstance. Mokushu isn’t completely peaceful. Even if Nohr hasn’t spoken with them, they may still attack us since we’re on their territory without permission.”

Setsuna raised her hand. “Can’t we just send them a notice beforehand? I’m sure Orochi could conjure up a magical message saying that we’re coming through or something.”

“That would be unwise,” Saizo answered with his arms crossed. “It could be easily intercepted by a Nohrian mage or Mokushu could warn them expecting some kind of reward.”

His brother nodded in agreement. “It would be best if we simply stayed under the radar. If we’re detected, however, we should do our best to remain civil.”

“Now,” Corrin continued. “I want everyone to march in the usual formation, though now that we have two new members…” He thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. “Hinata, you stay near Hana. Oboro, you’re with Setsuna and I.”

The spear fighter scowled and leaned back in clear dissatisfaction. “Why? I’d much rather be myself, thank you.”

“Because you dislike me and I can’t have that.” With a somewhat uncharacteristic smile, Corrin turned around and manifested the portal out of the Astral Plane. Setsuna giggled in amusement, always impressed by her lover’s draconic abilities. One by one the Hoshidan soldiers crossed dimensions and marched on forward into Mokushu territory.

With Setsuna latched onto his arm, Corrin lead the army with Oboro by his side. He glanced back and saw Kaze and Azura smiling at each other, then looked at Hayato walking close to Rinkah. Hinoka had the dark mage Zola in chain bindings and was watching over him. They had initially planned to keep him held in a small jail that Lilith had conjured up, but Orochi told them that dark mages were tricky and that he was not guaranteed to be kept imprisoned. As such, he was forced to be roughly escorted along the path by the stern Hoshidan princess, something she seemed to be taking great pleasure in. Corrin then looked to Oboro, who refused to meet his eyes. 

It was disheartening attempting to deal with such a stubborn woman. He had tried making small talk with her, but she insisted on only responded with a growl. Despite frustrating him, it also made Corrin smile. Her growling as well as her stubbornness reminded him of Kamui. Kamui’s small stature combined with her short fuse was cute, though she could of course best him in a fight. Oboro had Kamui’s qualities, but she wasn’t as adorable considering the fact that she was less than a head shorter than he was. 

He didn’t yet know why she hated him. Hinata had told him that she disliked Nohrians, but why? Yes, they hadn’t exactly been kind to Hoshido over the years, but no one else that Corrin knew of felt that way. He figured that it was something personal, but what?

Behind him, Corrin heard his little sister sigh and turned around. “Sakura? What’s the matter?” he asked. 

The young princess shook her head and looked towards the ground. “It’s nothing. I just miss Ryoma and Takumi, that’s all. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’m your older brother, it’s my job to worry,” Corrin said and gave her a reassuring smile, placing his hand on her head like he used to do with Elise. “Just try and stay positive, alright? We’ll find them for sure. I promise.”

Sakura’s frown slowly turned into a pleased smile. Corrin was happy that he could make his little sister smile, seeing as how Sakura was not yet born when he was stolen from Hoshido. He had no previous relationship with her nor Takumi, Hinoka and Ryoma being the only ones to remember him. It showed, seeing as how Takumi was extremely distrustful towards him while his older siblings seemed very fond of him. Sakura at least thought of him as her brother. Corrin briefly wondered if Takumi had said something to Oboro to make her hate him so much, but his thought was interrupted by his long ears twitching. 

Corrin had always had extremely good hearing, something he now attributed to his draconic blood. In the distance, he heard something whizzing through the air. The high pitched sound told him that it was something small moving at an incredibly fast speed. The noise was getting louder and closer. Corrin acted quickly and called out to Sakura. 

“Get down!” he shouted, reflexively pushing her back. Right as she stumbled backwards, a shuriken whizzed by and lodged itself into a tree.

“That’s a Mokushan shuriken,” Kaze said immediately as the entire army ducked down. “It’s four pointed as opposed to three. It appears that we have trouble. What are we to do, Corrin?”

The commander sighed and grit his teeth. “So much for not interacting with Mokushu. Keep your guard up, everyone.”

Hinoka glared at her prisoner and roughly yanked the chain to his handcuffs, moving him towards her. “How convenient for you. Tell me, when did you contact your Nohrian allies to tell them to have Mokushu rescue you? And they get four members of the royal family as well as Hoshido’s finest warriors to boot. This truly was a golden opportunity for you, wasn’t it?”

Zola, with fear in his eyes, rapidly shook his head to assure Hinoka that he was not involved in this turn of events. “No no no, I swear! I didn’t contact anyone! Nohr’s simply made allies with Mokushu, so of course they would attack Hoshidans!”

“This one is correct.”

Everyone turned their head to the left, where a band of ninjas emerged from the trees. They were dressed like Kaze and Saizo were, but in darker colors and with more blades on their arms. Leading them was a man with light brown hair and a matching beard, several blades longing the arms of his ninja attire. He had a cocky grin on his face and stood with his arms crossed. 

“You’ve entered Mokushu territory. Our nation is now allied with Nohr, unluckily for you. Tell me, why have you trespassed on my land?”

Corrin scanned the area and assessed the situation before speaking. There were around three dozen ninjas surrounding them, all armed to the teeth. He did not see any points of escape, so diplomacy was the only option. 

“My name is Prince Corrin of Hoshido. I am—”

“Yes yes, I know who you are,” the man interrupted. “Your sword gives it away. That doesn’t answer my question. Will it help if I introduce myself? Fine.” He stepped forward with two small strides and maintained an intimidating aura. “I am Kotaro, the daimyo of Mokushu. Now, answer me.”

The dragon grit his teeth. This man seemed both hostile and displeased, a dangerous combination. “We seek no conflict. We are simply taking this route to our destination. If you would like us to leave, then we will. This can be settled peacefully.”

Kotaro smirked. “I don’t think so. You see, Nohr has promised me and my people a great deal of land to expand our nation once Hoshido is defeated. We’ve long been waiting for an opportunity to grow our reach and this war is the perfect situation to do exactly that. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“So you’re a war profiteer? How disappointing,” Kaze lowered his head. “The famous daimyo of Mokushu turns out to be nothing but a scheming politician. I had expected more.” 

“You lack ambition,” Kotaro responded. “I’m ending this war today. It’s funny how a third party will be the one to do so, is it not? Men, now!”

“Everyone, formations!”

As the battle began, Corrin was quickly overwhelmed by the barrage of shurikens coming and going from every direction. From what he had learned beforehand, shurikens weren’t traditionally used for major combat. They were primarily used as a form of distraction, so Corrin wondered exactly why they were the weapon of choice for Hoshidan and Mokushan ninja. He did not have time to dwell on it for long, though. 

The combination of shurikens, Setsuna’s arrows, and Hayato and Orochi’s spells made Corrin feel disorientated. In fact, he would have taken a shuriken to the eye if it weren’t for Kaze using the long blade on his arm to deftly deflect it. 

“Thank you!” Corrin quickly said, then charging forward with his sword in hand. He slashed upwards at a ninja’s hand and knocked a shuriken out of his grasp. He then spun around and slammed the flat end of the Yato into his head to knock him out. 

To Corrin’s surprise, one of the Mokushans managed to catch an arrow from Setsuna and snap it in two. These were highly trained soldiers; Corrin had to remain cautious. A moment of idleness could be the death of him. 

He found himself cornered against a large tree versus four ninjas. Not letting himself panic, he took hold of the dragonstone around his neck and transformed, emitting a deafening roar before charging forward and knocking his adversaries to his side. He then returned to his normal form and grinned. He was getting better at making smoother transformations thanks to Azura’s help, though he still wanted to know exactly how she knew so much about dragons. Pushing the thought aside, he continued to combat the ninjas.

Glancing to his right, Corrin saw Saizo and Kotaro engaged in a sort of duel. No one else from either army was interfering. They were fighting with only short blades—which Corrin believed were called tanto—as well as the blades on their arms. It was a close combat kind of fight, both men being in each other’s faces and refusing to relent. Saizo grunted with every slash of his blade and Kotaro flinched each time he deflected one. 

Turning his attention away from the battle between the two ninjas, Corrin watched as Hayato used a wind based tome to blast enemies towards Rinkah to set her up for slamming her club into them. The former seemed distressed, constantly looking around himself, while the latter had on her face an amused smile. Next to them, Subaki swooped down on his pegasus with Sakura behind him, his naginata extended and cutting down anyone in its path. It was difficult to fly in such a dense forest, so Hinoka mainly kept to occasionally dive bombing down before looping back up into the air.

Kaze and Azura watched each other’s backs as they had done in the battle against the Wind Tribe’s warriors. Corrin noted their synergy for further thought and returned to the fight, knocking a ninja off of his feet before kicking him in the head to relieve him of his consciousness. 

Immediately afterwards, Corrin was knocked onto his rear by an enemy slamming into him from the front. This one had a larger build than most of the other nimble warriors and had used it to his advantage. Before the ninja could throw his dagger into Corrin’s stomach, the prince rolled back and placed his arms on the ground, pushing upwards until he was standing on his hands. He spun on his hands towards his adversary and locked his legs around the ninja’s neck, then moving his hands out from under him and falling down. This resulted in the Mokushan’s head being slammed into the ground and knocking him out. 

The twins had spent a few weeks in their training learning hand to hand combat in case they were to ever be disarmed. Kamui had valued knowing the weak points on the human body and where she should hit the hardest while Corrin was more interested in the stylish take-downs that could be performed in the right situation, for they were simply more fun looking. That particular move was something that Kamui could not do to an average opponent considering her size as well as the fact that she couldn’t stand on her hands, something Corrin frequently tried to tease her about. 

As he was rising to his feet, Corrin winced and took a sharp breath as he felt a burning pain in his back near his shoulder. Several more followed and he cried out in pain, falling forward and breathing heavily.

He’d never been hit before—not through his armor. He could tell that five shurikens likely designed to pierce armor had broken through his defenses and hit him in the back. They weren’t deep wounds of course, but the pain they inflicted was immense. Corrin prayed that they were not poisoned. He couldn’t die this early into his role as the leader of an army. He couldn’t die before reuniting with his brothers. He couldn’t die without seeing Kamui one last time.

“I’ve got you, Corrin!”

Corrin grimaced again. Now he was hearing voices. He had once read somewhere that right before one died, they would hear the voices of their loved ones before fading away. However, once he started to feel the shurikens in his back being removed and the pain began to fade, he became confused. 

“Oh, your armor! I’ll be sure to fix these holes in it!”

“_ FELICIA?! _”

Corrin, now healed, quickly rose to his feet and turned around, his eyes growing wide when they were set upon the lost retainer. There Felicia stood, her maid’s outfit torn and tattered and her hair sticking out in several directions, yet she still managed to hold a smile. 

“Did you miss me?” she asked with her signature awkward giggle. 

“Good gods!” Corrin cried out as he threw his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. “I thought you would be in Nohr with my sister! What are doing here? How did you get here?!” 

“I’ll be sure to explain that later, but we have something else to deal with right now.” Felicia placed her hand on Corrin’s shoulder and gently turned him to the side. Immediately, he was filled with fear.

The majority of the Mokushans had been luckily dealt with, but the wounded Hoshidans were not being healed. Everyone’s attention was focused on the Hoshidan prince standing near the edge of the forest clearing, his eyes a bright red and his body being circled by a sort of purple fog. 

“Betrayal…” he mumbled in a gravelly voice.

“T-Takumi?” Sakura asked in a whisper, tears beginning to fill her eyes. Hinoka took hold of her sister and pulled her close as she backed away. In his hands, Takumi held the Fujin Yumi. Its very presence made everyone cautious about their movements, for one wrong step could prove fatal.

“It should have been me…they ruined everything…Mother…” Takumi did not seem to be speaking, but rather allowing the words to escape his mouth. Corrin was incredibly confused as to what was happening. First Felicia appeared out of seemingly nowhere and now his brother was standing there looking as if he had been put under some sort of curse.

“Takumi!” Oboro called, beginning to step forward. Hinata grabbed her shoulder and quickly pulled her back, giving her a disapproving look. She stared at her liege with wide eyes and her hands tightly gripping her naginata.

Azura and Corrin exchanged looks from several metres away. The singer slowly moved her hand to her pendant and nodded at him. Corrin understood immediately and returned the gesture. Azura took a step forward as Takumi continued to mutter.

“Nobody notices me…they all ignore me, but I am more powerful than they could ever imagine! I will not stand in the shadows any longer! This time, I will show them the real me!”

“_ You are the ocean’s gray waves… _ ” Everyone turned their attention to Azura as she began to sing, including Takumi. He cried out in pain and manifested the Fujin Yumi’s bowstring and arrow, knocking it on the string and pulling back slowly as he trembled from Azura’s voice. “ _ Destined to seek life beyond the shore, just out of reach,” _she continued. 

Takumi quickly aimed his weapon and released the manifested string, sending the ethereal arrow straight into Azura’s shoulder. It disappeared upon contact, so it did not pierce her, but it did knock her down and stopped the song. She cried out in pain and clutched her shoulder as it began to turn a bruised purple. 

“Corrin!” she called through grit teeth. “Quickly!”

Azura slipped the pendant from around her neck and threw it towards Corrin, who grabbed it out of the air in a panic. He looked at her with a confused and frantic expression.

“You want me to—”

“Sing!” 

Kaze stepped forward in front of Corrin to slash one of Takumi’s arrows out of the air before it could make contact, then glancing back at him. 

“Do what she says, Corrin! This is a dangerous situation!”

“A-Alright!” Corrin tightly gripped the pendant and closed his eyes, forcing his breath to steady itself. He could not flub this performance, for the consequences might be dire. He bit his tongue and took a deep breath before beginning to recite the song’s lyrics.

“_ In the white light a hand reaches through. A double edged sword cuts your heart in two. _ ” Immediately, the song’s power took effect. A blue glow emitting from the pendant passed through the gaps in Corrin’s fingers and Corrin himself became surrounded by small droplets of water, just like Azura had when she sang for Kamui. Takumi groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. “ _ Waking dreams fade away, embrace the brand new day. _”

The purple fog around Takumi began to fade away into the air and the coloration of his eyes slowly returned to normal. The bowstring of the Fujin Yumi dissolved away and he dropped the limb to the ground as he fell to his knees, panting.

As the water and light around Corrin began to fade, he began to feel dizzy. His vision was so blurred that he could only barely make out the shape of Oboro running over and kneeling down to Takumi, pulling him into a hug. He stumbled back and had to be caught by Felicia.

“Woah there! Are you okay?” she asked. Corrin’s sight returned to normal and he blinked several times to be sure, then turning around to face his retainer.

“Yes, sorry. I just…Felicia, what are you doing here?” he asked. She was supposed to be back in Nohr with Kamui. Even if she was his retainer, she was supposed to be loyal to Nohr first and foremost.

The maid awkwardly smiled, pushing her hair behind her ear. “Well…when I heard that you and Kamui had fallen into the Bottomless Canyon, I was really depressed. I wouldn’t leave my room for days…but your sister and some others just recently set out on a mission that King Garon sent them on, so I thought to myself ‘Felicia, now’s your chance to escape!’. I rode a caravan to the border and snuck across myself. I was aiming to head for the castle since I figured that’s where you would be, but uh…I kind of got myself captured by Mokushans that were near the border for some reason. But Prince Takumi here freed me just now! I told him that I was your retainer, and that’s when he got all spooky.”

Corrin was having difficulty processing the situation. His brother had just been cured of possession by a magical song sung by himself, one of his retainers was now with him, and then there was the fact that Takumi was here in the first place. He had _ many _ questions. 

“Alright, so you’re here, but what of Flora?”

Felicia frowned. “She left around the time we attacked Hoshido. I don’t know where to…a-anyway, the prince!” She turned Corrin’s attention back to Takumi, who was being helped to stand by his retainers. 

“Takumi, what was that?” Hinata asked him. “Where’ve you been?”

Takumi groaned and held his hand to his head. “I…what just happened?” 

Azura approached him and gave a reassuring smile. “You must have been under some sort of spell. Tell us, what do you remember?”

The prince stood on his own and thought for a moment, not being able to fully recall the past events. When he did, he nodded his head. “Ryoma and I were on our way to Cheve to see Scarlet, but we got attacked by Nohrian troops all along the way. I guess they’ve pushed passed the border. Ryoma said that he was going to go ahead and that I should go back to warn you all to stay put in the capital for now, so that’s what I was doing. I don’t remember anything else once I came to Mokushan territory.”

“Who’s Scarlet?” Corrin asked as he handed Azura her pendant. Setsuna walked over to his side and held onto his arm. Takumi glared at him, but shook his head and returned to a less hostile expression. 

“Ryoma’s wife. She’s pregnant and expected to give birth soon, so we were on our way to witness it. Even with the war, it would be a shame for a father to miss the birth of his child.”

Corrin raised his eyebrows and couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, I didn’t know that Ryoma was married. And she’s with child, too? That’s great!”

“Tch, not during a war.” Takumi looked passed Corrin at his sister, who was tying Zola’s chains to a tree trunk. “Hinoka, who’s this?”

“Prisoner. I’ll explain later,” she responded. “I’m glad you’re okay, Takumi, but we have other things to deal with. Good job freeing the captives.”

Corrin remembered that Felicia said that she had been captured and held prisoner. Takumi freed her while he was under the spell? It was hard to believe, but Corrin did not question it. He was more focused on someone he had managed to miss completely. Saizo stood over Kotaro’s body next to Orochi and another ninja whom Corrin did not recognize. She was a woman who wore somewhat revealing kunoichi attire with a large bust and yellow scarf that wrapped around her neck and draped over her shoulders. She stood with her arms crossed, staring down at the corpse below her. Despite her face being partially concealed by her scarf, Corrin could tell that she was an absolutely beautiful woman. Her hair somehow appeared as if she had just had it styled, her figure was impeccable, and her toned legs drew Corrin’s eyes right to them. 

“You must be Kagero,” Corrin said with a smile as he began to approach her with Setsuna. “I’m Corrin, the commander of this army. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The ninja nodded and looked at him. “Yes, I know who you are. I’m looking forward to working under you,” she said flatly. Corrin frowned. She did not seem very friendly.

“Kagero, what happened?” Orochi asked. “We sort of know how Takumi got here, but you?”

Kagero sighed and shook her head. “I was given the order by my superiors to make my way to Ryoma’s side at once, as he will be staying in Cheve for longer than expected. As well as his child’s birth fast approaching, a new civil strife has apparently been brewing in Nohr. I was careless while travelling through Mokushu and was captured.” She grit her teeth, clearly displeased with herself. “I apologize to everyone for such a shameful display.”

“Worry not, Kagero.” Kaze began. “Lord Takumi has safely reunited with us, you are unharmed, and we know where Lord Ryoma is. And it seems that Lord Corrin has found an old friend,” he said with a smile.

“We should continue on to Cheve,” Azura suggested. “Once we get there and meet up with Ryoma, our task will be complete and the war can continue on as normal. Corrin, do you agree with this course of action?”

The prince nodded as his brother grimaced, remembering that Corrin was in fact the leader of this army. “Yes. It will be dangerous bringing such a large group so close to Nohr, but I’m sure that some of us can stay behind in the Astral Plane.” Before anyone could ask, Corrin raised his hand. “I’ll explain to you three what that is when we get there.”

“I can do it,” Oboro said without looking at him. “For Takumi.”

With a sigh, Corrin shook his head. He silently hoped that those two were not a lost cause and took a step back, making a large circle with his hand and opening the portal to the Astral Plane. Kagero, Takumi, and Felicia looked confused, though Kagero simply looked to Kaze for a confirmation of the portal’s legitimacy. After he nodded, Kagero followed the rest of the army through the portal and into the other world. 

* * *

“Do you think I’m just unlikable?” Corrin asked as he fell backwards onto his bed, briefly bouncing before coming to rest on his pillow. Him and Setsuna were in his bedroom, the latter sitting at the vanity and absentmindedly poking at a cut on her lip. 

After becoming acquainted with the layout of the little village the army had, the three new additions to the army had retreated into a home for the night. Takumi stayed with Oboro, Kagero with Kaze, and Felicia had been asked to stay with Azama by the man himself and was too flustered to decline. The maid had been impressed with what Lilith had created as well as by the fact that she was a dragon, but seemed more amused at her fishl-ike appearance than anything else. 

“I like you.” Setsuna put flatly. “So does Azura. And Kaze. And your sisters. You’re likable.”

“Then why does Takumi hate me? What did I ever do to him?”

The archer stared at her lover with a blank expression. Corrin rolled his eyes and sat up. “Before that, Setsuna. He’s been hostile towards me ever since I arrived in Hoshido.”

“Maybe he does like you, but doesn’t know how to express his feelings,” Setsuna offered with a slight grin. “I think some people are like that. Or maybe he was just didn’t want to accept a new addition to the family so easily. There are a lot of possibilities, Corrin.”

“You don’t think it’s about the throne, do you?” Corrin inquired. “I mean, now that I’m here, I’m after Hinoka instead of Takumi. He couldn’t feel like I stole his position, could he?”

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t like your sister either.” Setsuna removed her lacy headdress and placed it in the open drawer of the vanity, pushing it in and standing. “You could always ask him.”

“You think he would tell me?”

Setsuna shrugged. “Don’t know. Can’t hurt to try.” She approached Corrin and pulled him into a hug, giving him a kiss before continuing on towards the bathroom. “I’m going to take a bath. You should talk to him before he ends up hating your forever and ever until the end of the time. I’ll see you later.”

The aloof archer stepped into the bathroom and Corrin sighed upon hearing the sound of the faucet turning on. Standing, he slowly made his way over to the dragon vein insignia on the floor and stared at it. Would talking to Takumi really clear things up between the two? What if it only made him hate Corrin more? He could fully explain his reasons and things could remain the same. There were too many possible outcomes for the prince to be fully confident in this plan, but he swallowed his fear and activated the dragon vein.

Corrin figured that the gods were telling him not to do it, since immediately things went wrong. The instant he materialized on the ground, he fell forward and heard two cries of surprise. One was his own and the other was a shockingly feminine one. When Corrin opened his eyes, he found himself on top of one of his new recruits, Kagero. She was lying flat on her back with him on top of her, her eyes aimed towards the sky and her face a bright red. It was difficult to ignore her large chest pushing into Corrin’s own. The prince let out another shout and quickly rose to his feet, leaving Kagero to rise on her own.

“Oh, a thousand apologies! I’m sorry! Forgive me!” he said, bowing multiple times to show his regret. He had once read in a book about Hoshido that it was a common sign of respect and often used to show guilt or apologize. “I should have known that you were there!”

Kagero pulled her scarf up over her mouth and averted her eyes, the red on her face beginning to fade. “It’s quite alright, I assure you. I should have known better than to stand in the middle of that insignia. It’s my fault.” She looked around the area at the various identical houses as well as the other facilities, such as the mess hall and forgery. “This place is special. You say that a dragon made everything here, yes? And that you are a dragon as well?”

“Ah, yes. Lilith. She’s had a hand in raising me since I was a child, though she’s more like an older sister than a mother. Since she’s a full blooded dragon, she can manipulate the area as she sees fit. All I can do is open up doors to this place,” Corrin began before biting his thumbnail, “and turn into a dragon.”

“I see,” Kagero said, putting her hand to her chin. “And how does that come into play in battle? I would assume that a dragon would be difficult to take down even with multiple people.”

Corrin removed his thumb from his teeth and awkwardly scratched his ear. “Well, you would think so, but I’m not too good at controlling it. I have difficulty going to and from, you know? Like, transforming back and forth. But I’ve been getting better, though, thanks to Azura.”

“That makes sense. She knows a surprising amount about dragons and the like. She would sometimes tell me about them when we were children.”

“Oh, you know Azura?”

Kagero nodded, her scarf slowly falling down and revealing her smile. “Yes, most of us do. When I was a retainer to your mother and they would spend time together, I would always be by Mikoto’s side. We were acquaintances before that, but only truly became friends around that time. You two are related, yes?”

“I suppose so. Her birth father is my adoptive father, so I guess that would make us foster siblings? Though I’ve denounced any relation I had to that man, meaning that we aren’t really related at all.”

“I see,” Kagero muttered. “Well, I was only examining your tree here. It is quite impressive. I won’t keep you from doing what you intend to do.” She stepped to the side, allowing Corrin to walk by her. “Goodbye.”

“I’ll see you later. Goodnight,” Corrin said as he began walking down the path to Takumi’s house. Kagero seemed nice, or at least more friendly than he had initially thought. She was also very attractive, though he felt slightly guilty over that thought due to his relationship with Setsuna. Pushing the notion out of his mind, he eventually came to Oboro’s house. 

Oboro was hostile. She seemed to hate him more than Takumi did, which was saying a lot. She was so hostile in fact that before Corrin could even knock on the door, she opened it with her weapon in hand and a scowl on her face. 

“What do you want?” she asked with aggression in her tone. “I’d rather not be bothered right now.”

Corrin bit his lip and leaned to the side to look past Oboro, hoping to see Takumi in the house. Unfortunately, all he managed to catch a glimpse of was the Fujin Yumi resting against a wall. Looking Oboro in the eyes, he was immediately intimidated. The amount of contempt in her gaze was almost tangible. 

“Ah…sorry to disturb you, but I wanted to know whether or not Takumi was there. Is he perhaps out now? I need to—

“He’s busy.” Oboro quickly moved to shut the door, but Corrin reflexively stuck his foot between the door and its frame. He winced once he realized his mistake and Oboro managed to scowl at him harder than she already had been. “Is it important?”

“Yes,” Corrin half-lied. It was important to him, at least. “May I speak to him?” He could have of course just used his position as commander to demand that she step aside, but she already hated him enough. He did not need to give her another reason. 

Oboro continued to stare at him before closing her eyes and stepping back and to the side, making way for Corrin to pass. “Don’t take too long. It’s late.”

With a respectful nod, Corrin cautiously walked by Oboro with his eyes facing towards the ground. He felt that if he glanced at her, he would disintegrate into dust on the spot. The house was identical to every other house in the camp, so he had no problem navigating the hallways. The house was lit by several hanging oil lanterns on the walls and decorated with various draconic imagery courtesy of Lilith. Luckily for Corrin, he found the door to Takumi’s room wide open, the youngest prince lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He turned his head towards Corrin and frowned.

“What do you want?” he asked as he turned in bed to face the wall. Corrin bit his lip. This might prove more difficult than he had initially predicted.

“Good evening, Takumi,” Corrin began. He didn’t want to be too familiar since Takumi did not even consider them to be related. “Ah…I wanted to ask you a question.”

“Then ask.”

Beginning to nervously scratch at his ear, the prince began to think carefully about his next words. “Um…can you…tell me exactly why you hate me so much?” As Takumi began to turn back to face Corrin, he quickly continued to speak. “I mean before! Right when I arrived in Hoshido with Kamui, you didn’t like either of us at all. I just want to know why.”

Sitting up, Takumi took a deep breath and stared up at Corrin, his eyes unblinking. “…Have you ever actually given any thought as to why I don’t like you? Or did you just choose to ask without ever thinking for yourself?”

“Well, of course I have, but—”

“Then you’re an idiot for not being able to figure it out,” Takumi said flatly. “You do know how much Ryoma and Hinoka care about you, right? You should be grateful. They’re so attached to you despite knowing almost nothing about the type of person you are. Unconditional love must be nice, huh?” He stood up and crossed his arms, his gaze turning to a glare. “You’re twenty years old now, right? And you were stolen when you were two. That’s eighteen years of living in Nohr, eighteen years of not knowing any of us, and eighteen years in which you could have become something incomparable to the child that they once knew. You could’ve planned to murder us all in our sleep or return to Nohr just like your sister did. We didn’t know anything about you and yet everyone accepted you as if you’d been apart of the family for your entire life.”

Corrin’s shoulders slacked, as did his ears. “So you were suspicious.” He shrugged his shoulders and gave a slow nod. “Alright, that’s understandable. But don’t you think that you should trust me at this point?”

“Oh, I do trust you. But that doesn’t mean that I like you.” Takumi roughly got out of bed and took several steps towards Corrin with his fists balled. “Do you know how much _ time _you took away from this family? Hinoka was always busy training, training, training to get YOU back, and in the end she didn’t even have a part in doing that! Yukimura said that it would be too dangerous to send the princess into enemy territory. And Ryoma? He was always talking about you two—the damn twins. In fact, he would never shut up about how well behaved you were! Every time I would throw a fit as a kid, it was always ‘Corrin and Kamui never did this’ or ‘Don’t you want to be like the twins?’! I never even knew you—why would I want to be compared to you?!” 

“Th-that’s not my fault!” Corrin told him defensively. “I’m sorry that you had to experience that, but I didn’t have any control over it. You should—”

“And THEN you had to show up here in Hoshido! I wish Kaze and Rinkah had never even gone after you! If it weren’t for you and that stupid sword of yours, then Mother would still be alive and so would everyone that died in the square!” Takumi angrily jabbed his finger into Corrin’s chest, pushing him back a bit. “It’s _ your _ fault. They’re dead because of _ you _. I want you to always remember that whenever you ask yourself why I hate you.”

Corrin forced himself to not shout back. He did not want this to just be a reenactment of their argument back at the castle after Kamui had left. He remembered what Kamui had said to him before she did. “It was your sword”. She was right, of course. It _ was _ his sword. If he hadn’t accepted it from Garon, then the king’s whole plan would have fallen apart. He took a long inhale before responding to Takumi. 

“I’m sorry, Takumi. I didn’t know that the sword—which was given to me by Garon—would explode. There is also the matter of the hooded man in the crowd, who disappeared after the explosion. I assume he was sent to set off the explosion himself. I never meant for any of that to happen.”

“Sorry won’t fix it.”

Biting his lip, Corrin held back the tears that threatened to come forth. Why was he being so difficult? 

“Then what do you want me to do? How can I make it so that you forgive me?”

“Corrin, I want you to listen and I want you to listen close.” Takumi stepped directly in front of him and glared up into his deep red eyes, speaking slowly and clearly. “I will _ never _forgive you. All your life you’ve had your older siblings doting on you and your younger ones worshiping you. Now that you’re in the real world, you have to learn to not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone will be your friend. Deal with that.”

“T-Takumi—”

“Leave. A leader needs his rest.” Takumi turned around and extinguished the wall lamp’s flame, lying down in his bed and pulling the bedsheets over himself. “Don’t waste your time on a lost cause.”

Speechless, Corrin took a step back and exited the room, shutting the door when he left. He forcibly blinked several times to stop the tears from coming. It would be pointless as well as unbecoming of a general to cry over something so minuscule. Tears were to be reserved for the mourning of a good soldier that had fallen, not shed because someone did not like another person. 

Takumi was right. Corrin had given no reason for the Hoshidan prince to like him and plenty of reasons for him to dislike him, so it was only logical. Corrin would just have to learn to deal with it like every other person who hadn’t been sheltered and coddled their entire life. He would not complain and he would not cry.

He left the house without a word to Oboro. He didn’t want her to hear his voice crack. People liked Kamui. She was smart, beautiful, charismatic, strong, and had no issue talking to people. Corrin was awkward and not particularly good at combat. He silently walked through the field with a downtrodden expression, not bothering to look at any lingering soldier that was out for the night. If he did, then they would undoubtedly ask him what was the matter, and then he would have to explain what had just occurred, and he did not want to do that.

He did not want to do anything.

* * *

The Hoshidan’s mess hall was identical to that of Nohr’s, as were the rest of their facilities. The only difference was that while Kamui’s army had a statue of the Dusk Dragon in the center of it all, Corrin’s had one of the Dawn Dragon. He did not know much about the mythos, but he figured that he should pay respects to Hoshido’s primary deity.

In the corner of the mess hall was a round table where Corrin and Azura sat. They were to be joined by Kaze and Setsuna later, but they were alone for now. The Hoshidan prince had a light breakfast consisting of only fruit and bread while Azura did not have anything at all. 

“It is akin to a curse, you see,” Azura explained as she clutched the pendant around her neck. Corrin had just inquired about the headache he felt after singing for Takumi and had Azura sit him down after noticing the grim expression on her face. “While the song has powers, it does not come without a price. I have to be selective when singing it. After too much use, I’ll eventually wither away.”

“Wither away?!” Corrin asked in shock. “Azura, that’s insane! You’re saying that this song can kill you?” With a solemn nod, Azura removed her pendant and placed it on the table.

“There’s nothing I can do. It’s just the nature of the song’s magic. Its power has to come with a price, after all. Now, I apologize for not telling you about the side effects before telling you to sing the song. Was the headache painful?” Azura spoke in a genuine tone and leaned in closer to Corrin with concerned eyes.

The man shook his head. He was not concerned with the very minor headache that he had experienced, only Azura. “If it hurts you like this, then why do you ever use it? It’s dangerous, Azura.”

“Because of its powers, of course. I’m willing to endure a small amount of suffering if it helps others. What if I had not sung for Kamui, hm? She could have remained in her dragon form even now, rampaging through a village with our blood still stained on her scales. Takumi could still be possessed by whatever it is that took hold of him and we might have had to hurt him.” The songstress took a deep breath and bit her lip, tapping her fingers along the wooden table nervously. “It’s too powerful for me to not use it. I hope you can understand that.”

Before Corrin had a chance to respond, his vision suddenly went black. He recognized the sensation on his eyes and sighed with a smile. “Setsuna. What took you so long?”

“I burned my food,” the woman responded as she sat down next to Corrin and removed her hands from over his eyes. Kaze sat opposite her with his signature warm smile on his face, holding a tray of delectable looking breakfast. He had a stack of pancakes topped with a butter padding, crispy fried bacon, and a soft boiled egg. Meanwhile, Setsuna’s tray contained only toast as black as coal, a glass of water, and a single whole strawberry. Corrin squinted at what she had prepared and then looked at her with a perplexed expression.

“Setsuna, you do know that you didn’t have to cook your own food, right? Orochi and Felicia made everything for us.”

Setsuna pursed her lips and placed her hands on the table, staring at what she had created. “Oh.” She took the strawberry in her hand and took a bite of it. “Well I don’t really feel like getting up, so I guess this strawberry is my breakfast for the day.”

“That can’t be healthy. Here.” Kaze pierced several pancakes with his fork and transferred them over to Setsuna’s tray, also giving her several pieces of bacon. “There, now I won’t have an abundance of food.”

“Thaaank yooou.” 

“Would you like any, Azura? It seems you’ve already finished your food.”

“Yes, I have,” Azura quickly responded. “No thank you. I’m fine.” Corrin frowned at Azura’s behavior. She seemed to not want him to worry, but he could not help it. She was hurting herself every time she used her song’s power; how could he not be concerned? 

Deciding to steer the conversation away from Azura, Corrin looked to Kaze as he took a bite of one of his pancakes. “Kaze. If we’re heading to Cheve, then we’ll need to take a boat, right? About how long do think that will take?”

“Oh, it’s not too far. It’s maybe a day or two’s worth of travel.” Kaze shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat as Corrin nodded his head, finger on his chin.

“Right, right. Also, does anyone know exactly why Scarlet doesn’t live with everyone back at the castle? It’s only logical that a prince’s wife should live with him. Why Cheve?”

“She’s a rebel,” Setsuna answered with her mouth full of food. She swallowed it all at once and took a drink of water, then continuing to speak. “Uh, she’s the leader of the Chevois rebellion against Nohr. She’s pretty great. She could live a life of like, royalty and stuff, but instead she stays in her home country and help her people fight. All while pregnant!” She smiled at Corrin. “Could you fight if you were pregnant, Corrin?” 

The prince cracked an awkward smile and chuckled a bit. “I don’t think so, no. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to. I’d be too concerned for the child. This Scarlet must be very brave to do something like that.”

“You can tell her that yourself; we’ll meet her in due time,” Azura said. She began to talk to Kaze about something or other as Setsuna silently ate and Corrin looked behind him out of curiosity. He was immediately off put by how dense the seating was in the area on the other side of the mess hall compared to where he was sitting. Azura, Setsuna, Kaze, and himself were the only people on this entire half of the mess hall. 

From what Corrin could tell, Takumi was telling some sort of story and the entire army was barely paying attention to their food, too engrossed in his tale. The young prince clapped his hands together and everyone burst into laughter, Hinata even managing to choke on his food and having Hana hit him in the back several times. Corrin wished he could read lips so that he could at least feel apart of the group. He was the commander of the army; shouldn’t he have been there laughing along with everyone?

“Excuse me.”

Corrin turned his head back around and was met with the face of Kagero, who held a stick of celery in her hand. She was making direct eye contact with him with a serious expression on her face. Her forwardness made Corrin slightly embarrassed, so he averted his eyes as the color came to his cheeks. 

“Y-Yes? How can I help you?”

“I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions. My apologies if I’m intruding.” Kagero bowed in respect and closed her eyes, then rising. Corrin did not know how to react, for he was not used to such formality directed towards him. 

“Ah…yes, of course.” Corrin forced himself to look at her and cleared his throat, adjusting himself in his seat and placing his arm around Setsuna’s shoulder in order to appear less uncomfortable. The archer giggled in response and continued to eat her breakfast.

Kagero smiled warmly and sat down next to Kaze, giving a brief greeting to Corrin’s friends before addressing him. “Thank you. Allow me to confirm some things beforehand. You were taken from Hoshido when you were two and raised in Nohr for eighteen years, making you twenty years old now. Would you say that your early years were pleasant ones? From what Saizo and Orochi have told me, you don’t seem to resent your Nohrian family.”

So, people had been talking about him. Corrin’s thoughts began to wander before he snapped himself back to reality. “I would say so, yes. They were strict and we did not have much freedom, but we had all of our siblings to keep me company. We haven’t been entirely sheltered, though. Kamui and I had plenty of books—both fiction and historical—to teach us about the world. I must have read at least six textbooks on the history of Nohr by now,” he said with a laugh. Azura thought it best that she did not mention him bringing up Kamui so frequently. 

“I see,” Kagero mumbled with a nod. “And the sword you were wielding before Queen Mikoto’s passing. It was the one that exploded, yes?”

“Yes…someone in the crowd summoned it to their side and made it explode. I didn’t see what happened afterwards, but it seemed that they then stabbed Mother with it.”

“Were you aware that it was capable of something like that?”

Corrin shook his head rapidly, the very idea that he knew what would happen making him feel disgusted. “Of course not! I never would have taken the damn sword if I knew what would happen. It’s all Garon’s fault. He’s the one who gave it to me under the guise of a gift. Everything that happened that day is his fault.”

“Thank you. Now…I’m curious. Why exactly is it that you chose to fight with Hoshido as opposed to Nohr?” Kagero asked, leaning forward. Corrin became somewhat intimidated and scooted back slightly. “I’m surprised that you did not leave with your sister. It seems odd that twins who had been by each other’s sides their entire lives would separate so easily, and on such a large scale. You’re a part of armies on opposing sides of a war, after all.”

Corrin’s ears twitched. He had thought about this many times before and had never truly come to a concrete conclusion. “Um…well, I think that it was the right thing to do. Obviously. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it was wrong.” He forced a laugh, but immediately stopped himself when no one joined him. “Ah, King Garon is not just. He’s also the reason my father is dead. I couldn’t go back to Nohr with that knowledge. And he’s the one that set up the incident at the square. He’s killed both of my parents…I could never forgive him. How could I not oppose him knowing about the things he’s done?”

Kagero smiled. “That’s a satisfactory answer; thank you. You seem to be a good man, Corrin. I respect that. I am glad that you were the one chosen to lead us in battle.”

Corrin still was not used to gratitude like this, and as such blushed at Kagero’s words. “Ah, Thank you, Kagero. I appreciate that.”

“As polite as ever aren’t you? It’s good to see that the Mokushans haven’t brainwashed you,” Kaze joked as he took a bite of his last pancake. “It would have been a shame to have lost someone as wonderful to be around as you are.”

Kagero shook her head and chuckled. “I may not be a samurai, but I would not hesitate to end my life if I was threatened with something like that. The enemy could extract a plethora of information from me if my mind were to be seized like that.”

With a look of shock on his face, Corrin slowly leaned back. She would kill herself if she had to? He was not sure if he could ever do something like that. He figured that he could not, but not out of fear, mind you. If he were to die, all of his siblings would be far too heartbroken for his spirit to handle. 

Corrin rose to his feet and cleared his throat, picking up his tray and stepping away from the table. “I’m going to go see if we have everything ready before our departure. Enjoy the rest of your meal.”

“See ya later,” Setsuna said with her mouth full.

Corrin walked away and let out a sigh of relief. This was difficult. He had to deal with Takumi’s distaste for him, the information Azura had just given him, as well as handle an entire army relying on him.

Sometimes he wished he could just let Kamui do all the work.


	11. At Sea

Kamui sat in her tactician’s chair, leaning forward with her fingers interlocked and her hands set right under her nose. She bore a solemn expression on her face as she stared at the woman opposite her, appearing to be completely unamused.

Peri also sat with her hands in her lap and a smile on her face. Her hair, usually set in pigtails, was let down and she was dressed in a colorful t-shirt and tights. Meanwhile, Kamui wore a casual black dress with a white collar that was fairly common in Nohr. Her long and wild hair had been tamed into two long braids that fell over her shoulders, courtesy of her little sister. 

Instead of using the day to continue on to Notre Sagesse, Kamui had taken her brigade’s exhaustion into account and decided to use the day to rest. King Garon had not given her any sort of deadline or a time limit, so she figured that it would be fine. It would be best for her soldiers to be well energized in case of an unexpected encounter. 

While Kamui had been reviewing the history of Notre Sagesse in one of her textbooks, Peri had entered the room and said that she needed to talk to her. However, she had not said a word for nearly two minutes. She simply sat there and smiled. Kamui had begun to become annoyed.

“Peri.”

“Yes?”

“What is it you want?”

“To ask you a question!”

The princess sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What is the question you would like to ask?”

“Oh!” Peri’s cheeks went pink and she looked away, nervously scratching at her neck. “Ah…I was wondering if maybe you wanted to hang out today since we’re not doing anything? Laslow’s busy flirting with the new girl and Silas said that he’s going to spend all day training, so I’m all alone.”

Kamui froze. While she had been initially annoyed by Peri’s intrusion, now she was anxious. Peri had been open about her attraction to other women earlier, so did this mean she was asking Kamui on…a date? _ Oh Gods, _ Kamui thought. _ What if we end up in a relationship? And getting married? I can’t marry a woman, especially not a woman as daft as she is! No matter how cute she may be… _

Clearing her throat after realizing she had been silent for nearly ten seconds, Kamui closed her eyes and lowered her head, attempting to hide her blushing. 

“Ah…my apologies, but I’m a little busy with my studies. Perhaps another time.”

“Another time?” Peri tilted her head, clearly not understanding. “But I’m alone _ now _ ! I want to hang out with you _ now _! I’m sure I can just tell you all about whatever you’re researching while we’re together!”

“You can tell me the history and politics of Notre Sagesse?” Kamui asked doubtfully. To her surprise, Peri nodded with confidence.

“Yeah! That’s where most of my servants back home are from! I know all about it! Notre Sagesse was originally a Hoshidan colony, but gained independence when—”

Kamui cut her off, waving her hands to signal that she wanted Peri to stop. “Alright, alright, I believe you.” She began to stroke one of her braids and briefly stared at the wooden table. “Well…I suppose that if you can just explain everything to me, then I don’t really need to study…” She slowly closed the textbook and stood, thankful that the color was starting to fade from her face. 

Peri clapped her hands together and gave a wide grin, a gesture that made Kamui’s heart flutter. “Yay! Thank you!” She rose to her feet and made her way around the table, taking Kamui’s hands into hers. “The town we’re near right now has a theatre! We can go see a play! Isn’t that a good idea?”

The princess instinctively withdrew her hands with haste, something that made Peri frown. “Sorry, sorry,” she quickly said. “I’m not used to people touching me. We can see a play, yes.”

Peri’s smile promptly returned and she jumped in the air filled with glee. “Great! We can go now!”

“Now?” Kamui raised an eyebrow. “Without anyone knowing where we went? What if one of us is needed for something?”

“I’m sure that Jakob can cover for you! And besides, no one ever needs me for anything. Come on, come on! Open up your portal thingy!” Peri urged her, bouncing with every syllable. Still reluctant, Kamui slowly manifested the doorway behind Peri. As the girl ogled the creation with a strong curiosity, Kamui took the opportunity to peer through the window. Outside, Niles was speaking to Jakob, who had a particularly uncomfortable expression on his face. She silently prayed that all would be well and gestured towards the portal. 

“After you, I suppose.” 

“Yay!” Peri happily skipped right on through the portal, disappearing from the Astral Plane. Kamui bit her lip and grabbed her coin purse from her desk, then following Peri through the portal.

When Kamui arrived on the other side, she found that Peri had immediately run off to observe a nearby rabbit. The two had arrived right where they had entered the Astral Plane to begin with as they always did. This time, it was in a field outside of a moderately sized bustling town. Kamui closed the portal as quickly as she could, making sure that no one saw them. Turning around, she could see the town around a hundred or so meters away. 

“Peri!” she called. “Come now, the town isn’t far!”

“Kamui! Look, I found a bunny!” Peri held the white rabbit up and presented it to Kamui with a wide grin. The princess was concerned due to the rabbit kicking its legs restlessly and appearing to be quite frightened. “Isn’t he adorable? Can I keep him?” 

While put off by Peri treating her as if she were her mother, Kamui _ did _ wish to free the rabbit from the killer’s clutches. “I don’t think so, Peri. I think it would be best to let it go. It probably has a family that it wants to get back to.”

Peri gasped in astonishment that she had not realized that earlier. “Oh, right! Of course! Sorry, Mr. Bunny!” She knelt down and set the rabbit on the grass, waving as it hopped back off into the bushes. She then stood up straight and walked over to Kamui with her signature grin remaining on her face. “You said that you’re not used to being touched, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t like it! I’ll ask this time. Can we hold hands?”

Kamui’s face was flushed. She was getting quite tired of people seeing her blush. “You…you want to hold my hand? Why?” 

“Because we’re on a date, silly! When two people go on a date, they hold hands!” Peri 

giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “I know you’ve been in a fortress your whole life, so it’s okay that you didn’t know. Can we, though?”

With her face burning even hotter, Kamui’s palms began to sweat. Her suspicions had been confirmed; this was in fact a date. She’d never been on a date before. She had expected her first time to be with a handsome son of a noble picked out by her father or perhaps Xander, but here she was with one of her own soldiers—and a girl even! She was so preoccupied with imagining how Xander would react that she forgot to respond for a moment, making Peri’s smile waver. 

“Um, Kamui?” 

Forcibly blinking several times, Kamui snapped herself back to reality. “My apologies! Ah, I suppose it would be alright. If it’s appropriate for the occasion, then I don’t see why not.”

“Yay!” Peri put her right hand in Kamui’s left and started off towards the edge of the town with her commander in tow. 

Kamui was caught off guard. For someone as aggressive in battle as Peri, her grip was surprisingly gentle. Kamui couldn’t help but smile. 

* * *

Kamui had never before felt so self conscious. 

She was sitting on a bench waiting for Peri to buy treats for the both of them, trying to focus on reading the words on the pair of tickets held tightly in her hand. In the short amount of time they had been in town, she had already noted several people staring. Her mind switched back and forth between believing that they had recognized her as princess and believing that they were staring because two women were on a date. She dreaded even thinking about the ramifications of someone noticing both. Surely this event would be written about in newspapers and be spread across the country within days. The public had only just found out about her existence and already it was going to be ruined. This would—

“Kamui!!!” The princess’ thoughts were interrupted by Peri’s sing-songy call. Looking up from her hands, Kamui was met with Peri presenting her with two ice cream cones, one blue and one pink. She grinned at the fact that the colors of the ice cream matched Peri’s hair and could not help but blush at just how pretty she looked. “You pick whichever one you want, okay?”

Kamui nodded, choosing the pink one and opting to let Peri have the blue. Peri giggled and sat down next to her, immediately beginning to lick at her treat with delight. “Mmm! This is really good! Not at all like the kind my servants back home used to make!” 

“It’s likely a regional variation,” Kamui muttered as she stared at her ice cream. Peri looked at her curiously and turned her head to the side. 

“You’re going to eat it, right? You can just say so if you don’t want it.” 

“No no, I am. I’ve just never had this before and don’t know what to expect.”

Peri gasped, her mouth wide with shock. “You’ve never had ice cream before?! Kamui, how have you lived for so long without knowing the sweet taste of ice cream?”

A tad embarrassed, Kamui scratched at her neck with her finger. “There are a lot of things I haven’t had, really. I ate just fine growing up back home, but my food wasn’t exactly varied. I had cakes all the time, for example, eating dinner with important guests and what-not. I’ve never had pie, though, or any other pastry aside from cake for that matter. Even then I strayed away from eating too much of it. I had to watch my figure, and…” she trailed off, concerned over Peri’s furious expression. “P-Peri?”

“That’s it! From now on, I’ll be baking just for you! Pies, tarts, strudels, you name it! I won’t let you continue your life without ever having had baked treats like those!” Peri spoke assertively and somewhat demanding, which Kamui actually found to be endearing.

Kamui laughed; Peri really was adorable. “I’m looking forward to it, thank you.” She leaned forward and took a large scoop of her ice cream with her tongue. The corners of her mouth turned up even higher. “This is really sweet! I like it!”

“Of course you do, nobody doesn’t like ice cream!” Peri responded. The pair continued to enjoy their treats until they were gone, the both of them then rising to their feet and walking through the town. 

It was a small town for certain. The shopping district was filled with merchants who sold mildly interesting little trinkets as well as gypsies who offered to tell the girls’ fortunes, to which they politely declined. One made a comment about The Lovers arcana, which Kamui decided not to explain the significance of to Peri. Something she did accept, however, was an artist’s offer to paint a portrait of them. He explained that the colors of Peri’s hair contrasted with the simplicity of Kamui’s attire piqued his interest. 

The painting took around an hour to craft from start to finish, the artist maintaining his focus the entire time. While it was difficult to keep Peri still for that long, Kamui quickly concluded that holding her hand was the best way to do so. The painter, satisfied with his work, decided to give the piece to the couple in exchange for a small sum of money. 

“Wow…” Kamui stared at the painting in her hands, impressed by the craftsmanship shown. The artist had captured both her and Peri’s likenesses perfectly, from the angle that her own ears pointed to every lock of hair that stuck out from Peri’s head.. “Are…are my eyes really that red?”

“Yeah!” Peri responded. “They’re so bright! They’re really pretty, too. What about my eyes?” 

Kamui switched her gaze from Peri’s eyes to the ones painted onto the canvas. She was in awe at the artist’s ability to get the shades just perfect. She had noticed earlier that Peri’s eyes were two different colors—her left one pink while her right one was green—but did not feel the need to comment on it. Hers were bright and vibrant, just like Kamui’s. 

“They’re gorgeous, I think.” 

After briefly stepping back into the Astral Plane to hide the painting behind her desk, Kamui checked the time on her tickets and glanced at the clock on a nearby wall. “We should get going to the theater,” she said as she began to walk in the direction of her destination, Peri skipping behind her. 

“What’s the play about?” Peri asked, catching up to Kamui and beginning to walk normally. “Is it a drama? Tragedy? I _ love _tragedies.”

“It’s a romance, actually.” Kamui bit her lip, hoping that Peri would refrain from making a comment about how romantic it would be. To her relief, no such comment came. “It’s about a prince and a commoner girl. He falls in love with her at a gala that they both attend and spends most of the play looking for her. In the end—”

“Hey, hey! No spoilers! I don’t want to know anything but the premise!” Peri laughed, then looping her arm around Kamui’s. This made the height difference between the two much more apparent than it had been when they were just holding hands, much to Kamui’s dismay. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

Kamui smiled. “Yes, I am. You don’t have to ask; I assure you that I’m having a good time.”

“Oh, sorry! I just want to make sure that you’re not uncomfortable!” Peri assured her. “I thought that something like this could be a bit of a shock to you. It’s not like you’re out on the town a whole lot, you know? I wouldn’t want you to not be having fun just so I could.”

Suddenly, Kamui felt a warmth in her core. “That’s...surprisingly thoughtful of you, Peri. Thank you.”

She really was not sure exactly what to make of Peri. She had initially come off as childish and air headed girl, but had shown her colors as a bloodthirsty killer on the battlefield. Now she was being considerate and compassionate. 

“You’re a strange one, Peri.”

“That’s what Laslow always says! But I think he means that as an insult.”

The theater luckily was not far from the shopping district. The girls handed in their tickets and sat down in their balcony seats, chatting the minutes away until the lights went down and the play began. 

The prince, Erik, was played by a handsome man with dark hair and eyes, his princely image complete by a chiseled jawline and regal posture. Meanwhile, the commoner, Dahlia, was being portrayed by a dark skinned woman with emerald green eyes and silver hair. Kamui could not quite pinpoint where the woman could be from, though she was rather beautiful. She had makeup that looked like dirt smeared on her face and clothes to make her appear poor, which was only semi-convincing. 

Kamui found herself dozing off a few times during the play. It was a slow and long story with a boring subplot about one of Dahlia’s sisters that went nowhere interesting. However, Kamui was always woken up by Peri’s reactions. Whether it be an “Ooh!” or an “Aah!”, Kamui’s attention would be snapped back to the production. It took her a bit to get caught up on what was happening each time, but it was never too difficult. It was a fairly simple plot, after all.

The story itself was incredibly romantic, of course. There were numerous affection filled monologues as well as soliloquies about heartache and societal structure, which Kamui could not really relate to. She was a princess, after all. Nothing about the play was particularly subtle, but she did enjoy the social commentary. Of course, the play’s romantic tone would not be complete without plenty of kissing.

Every kiss that the leads shared made Kamui shift in her seat. With Peri sitting right next to her, it was hard not to sense the girl’s eyes fixed on her every time a kiss was exchanged. Her heart pounded in her chest every time Erik took Dahlia’s face into his hands or the two interlocked their fingers. She was reminded of the romance novels that Camilla would describe to her from time to time since Xander forbade her from reading them due to their age inappropriate content. Those stories contained quite a bit of kissing that made little Kamui’s cheeks burn at the very thought. 

_ I could never kiss anyone, _Kamui thought. She figured that she would overheat from the sheer intimacy of the act. She panicked when Peri touched her hands earlier; there was no way that she could kiss someone without curling up into a ball and dying. 

At the end of the play, Kamui realized that she was not completely honest with Peri when she was asked what genre the play was. While it was in fact a romance, it was also a tragedy. The story ended with Dahlia being executed for a crime she did not commit. She had been framed for a murder by the woman to whom Erik was betrothed and promptly put to the guillotine. Kamui was not shocked when Peri began to cry into her shoulder, her eyeliner running heavy down her face. Luckily, the princess carried a handkerchief for her to clean her face (and blow her nose) with. 

After participating in a standing ovation, the pair left the theater and made their way back outside of town to the field they had arrived in, standing under a dark and jeweled sky. Kamui was mesmerized by just how beautiful Peri looked bathed in the moonlight. As she wiped the last few tears away from her eyes, she sniffled and smiled at Kamui. 

“Wowie, that was something! How’d you like it?” she asked. 

Kamui awkwardly twirled one of her braids around her finger and smiled. “I ah…enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought the theming was well handled, though the character development was a bit lacking. Erik didn’t really change much at all throughout the story.”

“I liked the mushy romance in it!” Peri laughed, taking a step closer to Kamui. “I’m not sure what that other stuff means, but the kissing and the ‘I love you’s made me feel all warm inside. Do you like stuff like that?”

The princess thought for a moment before answering. “I’m not sure. I haven’t really read any romance novels or seen romantic plays. I suppose it is nice, showing your affection for someone in such a direct way.” She could not help but smile, slightly laughing at the thought of herself doing such things. “Not that I can relate. I’ve never had a romantic relationship. Most of my interactions as a child were with my siblings and servants, really.” 

“Would you ever want one? A relationship, I mean.”

Kamui blinked. “Well, yes. I would like to get married one day, but right now is—”

Then, like a pickpocket swiping a pouch of coins from a passerby, Peri swiftly stole a kiss from her superior. She closed her eyes, placed her hands on Kamui’s shoulders, leaned forward, and gently pressed her lips into hers. 

Immediately, Kamui was petrified. She was almost never off guard and yet Peri was able to effortlessly incapacitate her as if it were nothing. A wave of emotions washed over her, from fear to confusion to anger from panic. She wanted to step back, but her muscles refused to listen to her mind. It felt like it lasted forever, though in reality it was only a few seconds. Peri pulled away with a wide smile and anticipated Kamui’s reaction. Her smile slowly turned into a look of concern once she saw Kamui’s expression. 

“What’s wrong? You didn’t like it?”

Kamui’s chest felt tight and her throat was dry. She stumbled back away from Peri, the world seeming to spin around her. It was as if she had been struck in the head without any pain. 

“I—I’m sorry. I don’t…” Words failed her and she trailed off, her brain seeming to struggle to recall how to speak.

Peri frowned, her face suddenly filled with sorrow. “You don’t…like me?” she asked. She found herself with tears welling in her eyes, what remaining eyeliner there was beginning to wash away. “B-but I thought the date went really well…what, do you think I’m crazy like Laslow does?”

“No, I just—I’m sorry, Peri, really.”

“Then what is it? Is it because I’m not that smart?” At this point, Peri’s tears were flowing heavy. “I really like you, you know! If anyone else rejected me I would’ve just killed them, but I don’t even want to hurt you right now! That’s how much I like you!”

Too many things were running through Kamui’s mind for her to truly process what Peri had just said. Her breathing had become unsteady and erratic and she struggled to keep it steady. 

“I l-like you, too, but I just can’t. I’m sorry, I am. Can…can we go back?” 

Heartbroken, Peri silently nodded, wiping away her tears with her forearms. “It’s okay…I understand. I can be hard to be around, I know. Let’s go home now.”

While Kamui wanted to assure Peri that it was not her fault, she could not bring herself to speak anymore. She had trouble opening up the portal to The Astral plane and Peri immediately ran through it once Kamui managed to do so. Once Peri was gone, her breathing finally steadied itself and she stopped shaking. She let out a sigh of relief, putting a hand over her heart and leaning forward. 

“Gods…”

_ What was that? _she thought. She had frozen and gotten tongue tied, unable to think calmly or coherently like she always did. Her body seemingly forgot how to function and her brain went into overdrive, making her heart pound. Now that she was calm, she wondered why she reacted like that. She was not shocked that she was nervous about a kiss, but the anxiety that took over her very being was overwhelming. 

Peri was not waiting on the other side to say goodnight once Kamui arrived. The back door of her office was wide open, so Kamui assumed that the girl had stormed off in tears. She let out a deep groan, frustrated with herself as she stormed out of the room and out into the moonlight.

She’d hurt Peri’s feelings and could not even bring herself to apologize properly. What kind of leader was she? Commanders were never frightened and princesses surely never lost their ability to speak. She wanted to run to Peri’s house right at that moment and explain herself, but felt it best to give the girl some space. 

The guilty feeling made her heart heavy in her chest. Piled on top of her muddled emotions from the kiss, Kamui found it difficult to think straight. As she marched towards the large tree in which she stayed in, she touched her fingertips to her lips and frowned. Peri’s kiss was unexpected, but…it was nice. She was gentle and loving despite how quickly she moved in, so why did Kamui react so negatively?

“I can’t,” she reminded herself in a whisper. “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. It’s not a possibility.” Starting a relationship at this point would be an incredibly bad idea. She had a war to focus on—she could never balance that with another person that she had to tend to. On top of that, her reputation would be ruined if it was discovered that she was dating a woman—a reputation that she had only barely begun to build. Even if Peri _ were _ a boy, it would still be a bad look to date someone that was supposed to be her subordinate in every sense of the word. 

Irresponsible is the first word that came to mind. She was surprised when Lilith informed her that Corrin had taken on a lover, partially because of how reserved he was and partially because she expected him to have the same philosophy that she did. How rash would a military leader have to be to start a relationship in the middle of a war? On top of that, she and Peri had only known each other for a little over a week. She could never date her, at least not now.

“Kamui?”

The princess screamed, startled by someone suddenly calling her name. She had been staring at the grass the entire time she was walking and had not realized that Silas was standing at the base of her large tree with a solicitous look on his face. Once she realized who it was, she shook her head and forced a smile.

“Hello, Silas. I apologize for that, you frightened me. Do you need anything?” Kamui asked, reminding herself of her posture and straightening out her back. Silas frowned and leaned in closer to her.

“Uh…yeah, I was going to ask where you were all day…why are you crying?” Silas did not seem to be fooled by Kamui’s false demeanor at all. His eyes were thinned and his lips pressed together in concern.

“Crying?” Kamui touched her fingertips to her cheek and found that tears were indeed rolling down her face, much to her surprise. “Oh. I…I hadn’t noticed.” She felt a lump rising in her throat and her legs growing weak. She stumbled forward and would have fallen if it were not for Silas stepping in to catch her. She held onto his shoulders and rested her head on his chest.

At this point, the weeping had begun. Kamui did not know why it was happening, but there was nothing she could do to stop her tears from flowing. All Silas could do was put his hand on her head and hug her, despite not having an inkling of an idea as to why this was happening. 

The crying did not cease for a while.

* * *

Kamui awoke to the sound of humming.

Her head was pounding, a pulsing pain present in her left temple. She moaned and placed her hand on her head, then sitting up and slowly opening her eyes. She looked for the source of the humming and found Elise standing at her bedside with a clothes iron in her hand. On the ironing board was the dress that Kamui had worn the previous day, nearly wrinkle free. 

Elise’s hair was in its naturally straight state and fell down to her waist. She was dressed in a pink blouse and blue short shorts, which made her sister squint her eyes. 

“Elise…?” the princess managed to groan, yawning before stretching her arms. “Why are you…?”

“Oh!” Elise turned around in surprise and smiled at her older sister. “Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty! We’ve got breakfast made for you! Give me a sec.”

Before Kamui could respond, Elise made her way over to the entrance to the small kitchen that Kamui had requested Lilith have erected. After a few moments, Silas exited the room holding a tray with a smile on his face.

“Mornin’, Kamui.” He presented the tray to her and she took it tentatively. Her breakfast was comprised of fried eggs, sausage, orange slices, and bacon. The scent of the food filled her nostrils and made her smile, but she quickly wiped it off of her face. “Sleep well?”

“Why are you here?” Kamui asked with a hint of irritation in her voice. “As a matter of fact, why are you two dressed so…casually? We’re supposed to be marching today.”

“Yeah, we were.” Silas shrugged, walking over to Kamui’s vanity before sitting down in the chair. He propped his arms up on it and rested his head in his hands with a bored expression.“Not anymore, though. You’re in no condition to do any sort of marching today.”

Offended, Kamui suddenly sat up and glared at him. “What are you talking about? My physical condition is fine. I have a slight headache, but that will go away in time.”

Silas shook his head, then closed his eyes and tapped his temple twice. “Mentally, Kamui.” Elise reentered the room and handed her sister a glass of milk, the elder princess uttering a quiet thanks before turning her attention back to Silas. “You remember last night, right? You came back from wherever it was you went and were a mess. You kept saying ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’ over and over again until you passed out. That doesn’t seem like a good mental state to me.”

“What?” Kamui was taken aback by Silas’ statements. “I don’t remember any of that. Are you sure you’re not lying?” 

“No, I’m not lying. Why would I? Anyway, I had Elise take us up here and fix you up. I didn’t watch you sleep or anything; I slept on the floor.” The knight stretched and grimaced, rubbing his craned neck. “That can’t be good for my back, but the bed was full with Elise on it. I’m sure you would kill me if you found out I slept in your bed, anyway.”

Truly, the last thing that Kamui remembered was walking back to her house. After the previous day’s disaster with Peri, she briefly wondered if her brain had attempted to forget about the date but instead had erased what happened afterwards. Grumbling, she angrily bit into an orange slice. 

“I don’t care. I’m perfectly fine, so we’re continuing as planned.”

“Actually, Silas and I already told everyone that today’s going to be another resting day! It’d be kind of cruel to tell a bunch of soldiers who thought that they could relax that they’re going to be marching the whole day, wouldn’t it?” Elise said with an innocent smile.

“What?!” Kamui exclaimed. “No! They’re soldiers, marching is their job! Why did you go around giving orders without my permission?”

“Because you were asleep and everyone wanted to know what they were doing today,” Silas answered with a scoff. “Would you have preferred we wake you up?”

“Yes!”

“No you wouldn’t! You would claw my eyes out if I ever disturbed you while you were sleeping!”

“Guys!” Elise interrupted. Kamui winced in pain. All of the yelling was making her migraine even worse. “Come on, no fighting. We’re all friends here, remember? Kamui, we were only trying to help; and Silas, you really should learn what ‘bedside manner’ means.”

With a deep sigh, Silas rose and fixed his messy hair. “Right, right. I’m sorry. Look, I promised Mozu that I’d help her practice her swordsmanship, alright? I’ll be back in a few hours.” He made his way over to the sigil and tapped his foot on it twice, gesturing to Elise. “Will you…?”

“I’ve got it.” Elise stood next to the sigil and knelt down to place a finger on it, making Silas disappear in a flash of light. She then turned around with her balled fists on her hips and her cheeks inflated, pouting at her sister. “You really need to learn to get along with Silas!”

Shocked, Kamui set her now empty tray down on her side table and squinted her eyes. “I do _ not _have to get along with one of my soldiers. All he has to do is listen to what I tell him and we will be fine.”

“Do you think of me as just one of your soldiers, then?”

“What?” Kamui shook her head. “Of course not, Elise. You’re my sister.”

“And Silas is supposed to be your best friend,” Elise pointed out. “Did you forget about that? I know that he’s been gone for a while, but come on, you two were super close!”

“How would you know that? You were only three when I met him!” 

Somewhat embarrassed, Elise turned away and crossed her arms. “Corrin’s told me stuff. You know, since you never would.”

With a guilty expression, Kamui lied down and pulled the bed sheets over her head. Recently, she _ had _been feeling guilty over the fact that her and Elise never really got along when they were younger. She was just so…boisterous. She was always full of energy, constantly asking the twins to play with her. Kamui could never keep up. 

“Elise, I—”

“Look. You can’t just treat everyone like they’re your subordinates. No one’s going to like you if they don’t feel like they’re your friend.” The youngest princess of Nohr sighed and took one step onto the sigil on the floor. “I’m going to go now, alright? If you need anything, just…shout out through the window. I’m sure someone will come to you.”

With that, Elise vanished in a flash of golden light, leaving Kamui by her lonesome. A conflicted look on her face, the princess rose from her bed and took a few steps forward before looking out the window. Outside, she could see Elise skipping to catch up to Silas, who was walking at a steady pace towards the barracks. She reached his side quickly and the two began to chat before eventually leaving Kamui’s sight.

After letting out a heavy groan, Kamui leaned backwards and collapsed on her bed. She wanted to scream. Who was Elise to give her social advice? She was but a little girl. While it was true that she had vastly more experience talking and being friends with people than Kamui did, she was still a child. 

“I don’t have to take advice from someone her age…” Kamui mumbled to herself. She felt around for a pillow before taking hold of one, then using it to cover her face. “I am perfectly fine. I don’t need to change the way I act towards anyone at all. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

The look on Kamui’s face slowly faded to one of doubt. Surely Elise was wrong…right? Kamui knew that while she was somewhat socially inept—especially for a princess—it was not as if she pushed people away with the way she acted. That was silly. In fact, she found that Laslow and Peri gravitated towards her quite naturally. They marched together as well as ate breakfast and dinner together, so that alone disproved her sister’s claims.

“I have friends,” Kamui said aloud. “Laslow and…and Peri. They’re my friends. I don’t know them all that well, but they’re still my friends. We get along.”

She winced. Peri…

“I should apologize.” Kamui rose from her bed and pulled open the top drawer of her dresser. Seeing as how all of her clothes in the Astral Plane were created by Lilith, this dress was an exact copy of what she had worn the previous day. After changing out of the clothes she was wearing and freshening up, she exited her house and stepped out onto the fields of the barracks.

She began walking towards Peri’s cottage, passing by the training grounds on the way. There, she saw Silas standing behind Mozu with his hand over hers, guiding her in her usage of a lance. Kamui scoffed at the girl’s amateur stance and loose grip, though was impressed when Silas quickly remedied both of these imperfections. Mozu smiled and laughed at something that Silas said while her face flushed red. When Silas laughed along with her, Kamui felt a tinge of pain in her heart. Shaking her head, she averted her eyes and continued forward.

Luckily for her, she did not have to walk very far in order to confront Peri. She saw a mass of blue and pink hair next to the armory, moving side to side as its owner hummed to herself. Taking a closer look, she found that Peri was wearing her full armor and examining the large scarlet ax that Kamui had earned a few days before. Upon noticing her, Peri gave a friendly grin. 

“Hi hi, Kamui!” she rested the ax on the side of the building’s wall and waved at her commander. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Peri,” Kamui awkwardly replied. She cleared her throat and stared at the clouds in the sky, not wanting to look Peri in the eye. “Ah…I wanted to know if you were alright?”

The girl tilted her head, maintaining the same innocent smile. “Alright? Yeah, I’m fine!” She giggled, her expressioning then softening. “If this is about last night, then you don’t have to worry about that. Like I said, I know that I can be hard to be around. I get it if—”

“N-no!” Kamui shouted, stepping closer to Peri and forcing herself to meet her gaze. “It’s not you, I promise. You’re wonderful. It’s me.” She bit her lip and began to nervously rub her arm, Peri blinking in confusion. “I…I just can’t start a relationship right now, alright? I have too many things to focus on, namely leading an army in a war. You understand, don’t you?”

“Ooooh.” Peri’s slow nods increased in pace before stopping. “Okay, that makes sense! Dating someone can be a lot of work, right? It only makes sense that you’d be busy with the war going on. Okay! Sorry for freaking out, then.”

“Sorry?” Kamui squinted. “You don’t have to apologize, really. Your reaction was perfectly fine. It seemed like I was disgusted with you, did it not? Of course you would be upset over that.”

“Nah, I just get upset real easy,” Peri told her. “I try not to, but I can’t help it. Laslow helps, but it’s mostly kind of useless. I think I have some sort of mental disorder or something, but that’s okay!”

Kamui gasped in shock. “Mental disorder? Come now, Peri, you don’t need to be so hard on yourself.”

“No no, really! At least, that’s what Laslow says. He may be a dummy, but he made a pretty convincing argument.” The girl shrugged before placing her index finger on her chin. “It’s not detrimental or anything, so I don’t mind. I’m working on it, though! Like, Laslow’s been teaching me stuff like breathing exercises to calm myself down when I get mad. They work! Sometimes.”

As Peri continued to explain the various methods in which Laslow assisted her with her situation, Kamui remained stuck in her own mind. Peri, this girl that she considered a friend, was mentally ill? But…she seemed fine from what Kamui could gather. Sure, she was a little eccentric and had a tendency to lose her temper, but she didn’t match the description of crazy people that Kamui had read at all. The books she read would mention people losing touch with reality or entering catatonic states, but Peri was perfectly normal. 

“Kamui?” Peri asked, waving her hand in front of the princess’ face. “Are you staring at me again? I know I’m adorable, but you have to be able to hold a conversation!”

Blinking several times, Kamui snapped out of her daze and nodded. “Right, right. My apologies. Actually, I’m going to go. I still have a few marching routes to map out before we leave tomorrow. I will talk to you later, goodbye!”

Before Peri could say anything, Kamui took off. With a shrug, the knight resumed examining the ax with glee. 

While she hastily walked towards the building that she referred to as her office, Kamui’s mind was dead set on one thing. While it was true that she had not completely finished mapping out marching routes, she had other plans in mind to spend the remainder of the day on.

* * *

  
  


Corrin may have been excited to be on a boat for the first time, but his body had reacted negatively.

Leaning over the edge of the boat, the young prince’s face appeared to be a sickly green and his eyes were only half open. He groaned, resting his head on his hands. Behind him, Setsuna pat his back in comfort while Kagero leaned in close to him. 

“This is your first time on a sea vessel, I take it? I suppose it makes sense that you would get sea sick.” The ninja took a canteen from her waistband and offered it to Corrin with a smile. “It is good to drink water if you feel nauseous. Here.”

Giving her a look of gratitude, Corrin took the canteen from her hands and twisted the cap off, putting the spout to his lips and taking a long swig of water. He let out a long breath afterwards, then nodding his head at Kagero. 

“Thank you. Hopefully this fixes things, at least for a while.” Handing the canteen back to her, Corrin stood up straight and gazed out at the water before him. Despite how queasy the motion made him feel, the sea green waves were beautiful to look at. Aside from a lake near Windmire, this was the first large body of water he had ever seen in person. He knew that the sea could span for kilometers on end, but the scale of it all still made his eyes glimmer in awe. 

His attention was suddenly pulled elsewhere when he felt a slight tugging on his cape. Turning around, he saw Sakura standing before him with the nail of her thumb between her teeth.

“What is it, Sakura?” he asked.

“Um…F-Felicia. You know her from before, right?”

Corrin smiled, always happy to talk about one of his closest comrades. “Yes, I do. She was my maid—ah, retainer—when I was growing up. Her and her twin sister, Flora. We weren’t too friendly towards each other as children, but as we grew up, things changed. We were more mature and got along just fine. I could confide in her, you know?”

Sakura slowly nodded her head, her eyes locked on the floorboards of the ship. “And Flora…?”

“Flora was always more distant, really,” Corrin admitted. “While she was incredibly skilled at domestic service, Felicia was…well, let’s just say she wouldn’t make a good housewife. As such, Flora was more devoted to her duties than being a friend. Granted, she was still one of my best friends along with Felicia. We spent a lot of time together, so it was only natural.”

“I see…did you ever develop feelings for one of them? Or the other way around?”

Corrin slowly squinted his eyes in confusion as Setsuna began to quietly laugh to herself. “Why, no, I can’t say that I did. However, Kamui used to tell me that Felicia was infatuated with me. Flora was always more into Jakob, though. Err, that is, one of Kamui’s retainers.”

Sakura nodded her head and looked up at Corrin with flushed cheeks before giving him a smile and bowing. “Thank you. That’s good to know. I’ll see you later.”

As Sakura turned around and began to walk away, Corrin stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to face him, somewhat confused.

“W-what is it?”

“Why do you ask?” Corrin inquired. “Just curious, or is there something else?”

“Oh…” The young princess looked at both Kagero and Setsuna, her heart pounding in her chest. Looking directly at her brother, she spoke in a soft whisper. “B-before we left for Cheve, um…Subaki proposed to me.” 

The instant Corrin processed what he had heard, his eyes widened in shock. Immediately, he turned his gaze to the aforementioned pegasus knight standing at the other of the deck chatting with Hana and Hinata. This man, his sister’s retainer, wished to marry her? 

Setsuna grinned and clapped her hands together. “Aw, that’s nice.” 

Corrin felt…odd. He had previously anticipated his reaction to any one of his younger siblings getting married to be overjoyed, but now he felt apprehensive. That feeling was accompanied by guilt, as he did not feel his thoughts were justified. It was not as if he had been by Sakura’s side all of her life, so why did he feel so protective? Was that genuinely only because she was his younger sister?

“I see,” Corrin removed his hand from Sakura’s shoulder and leaned back against the railing of the boat, staring at the cloudless blue sky with intense eyes. Kagero cracked a small smile at the image. “Well, how do you feel? Do you love him? Do you want to marry him?”

“I do,” Sakura replied. “But…m-marriage is a big deal, isn’t it? I’m of age for it, but even then, we’re in the middle of a war campaign…wouldn’t it be unwise to get married right now?”

“Might I chime in? Forgive my rudeness.” Kagero stepped forward and looked down at Sakura with a warm and gentle smile. “I believe that if you both hold feelings for one another, then there is no reason for you to not be together. However, like you said, we are at war. I would advise holding off on marriage until peace is reached. After all, that is what Hana and Hinata are doing as well as Saizo and Orochi. There’s no rush to be wed.”

As Kagero spoke, a small smile crept across Sakura’s face. “I suppose you’re right…I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting, though. A lot could happen if the engagement goes on for too long.” 

“Sakura, any man worthy of you would wait a thousand years if it meant he would have your hand in marriage,” Corrin told her. “If he complains, then it’s his loss. Trust me.” 

Corrin’s encouraging words brightly lit up Sakura’s expression and she seemed to glow with happiness. While he had not had an inkling of a clue to the true nature of Sakura’s relationship with her retainer, he was happy for her nonetheless. He briefly wondered what the wedding would be like. He had never attended a formal event that was not just a dinner with one of Garon’s associates before, so he wondered what it would be like. If a normal wedding was extravagant, then the wedding of a princess must be fantastical.

Suddenly, Sakura’s gleeful smile was washed out by dark gray cloud rolling over the blue sky, a loud clap of thunder sounding out throughout the area. The princess jumped, instantly clinging to her brother’s cape.

Kagero looked at the clouds with squinted eyes and pursed lips. “You don’t think that it could be a tornado, do you? I am aware that they sometimes happen over sea, but it is rare…for one to happen right now could prove catastrophic.” 

Despite his steadfast expression, Corrin’s heart was pounding in his chest. He had, of course, never experienced a tornado before. He briefly cursed his sheltered upbringing before placing a hand on Sakura’s shoulder once again. 

“I’m sure it’s just a passing shower. There was no storm forecasted. We should head inside, though. It would be troublesome if we were to be rained on.”

Before either Kagero or Setsuna could respond, a howling wind began to blow and the boat itself started to violently sway atop the increasingly intense waves. They were growing larger and larger by the moment, something that frightened Sakura greatly.

“Th-this boat is too big to capsize, right?” she asked hopefully as a heavy rain began to come down. Corrin hoped she was right.

Setsuna carelessly leaned over the railing, gazing in awe at the huge waves that had begun to slam into the boat. “This is really sudden…probably not natural. You think we’re under attack?” 

Corrin took hold of Setsuna’s collar and pulled her back from the railing, making her frown. After giving her a scolding glance, he quickly ushered the three girls over to the doorway that led below deck. 

“It’s going to be bumpy down there, so be careful. Make sure Sakura doesn’t get hurt for me, okay?”

“You’re going to remain on deck?” Kagero asked with a hint of worry in her tone. “Why is that?”

The prince shook his head as Sakura released his cape, allowing him to take several steps back and briefly glance behind himself. “I want to handle something. Be careful!” 

As Kagero, Setsuna, and Sakura disappeared down the stairs, Corrin began hastily walking over to the other side of the boat, struggling to maintain his balance. Just as he had expected, he found Hinoka roughly pulling on Zola’s chains and screaming at him.

“What is the meaning of this?! Explain yourself, you cowardly, dishonorable cur!” she shouted with a palpable anger in her voice. The mage had his hands helped up and sweat dropping heavy from his face, fear in his eyes. 

“I swear, I don’t have anything to do with this!” he claimed. “You suspected me in Mokushu and I was innocent, right? It’s the same deal now! Please!”

“Hinoka!” Corrin called before finally reaching the other end of the boat. “I don’t think that this is his doing. He would have escaped in the confusion beforehand if it were.”

“Then what is all this?” Hinoka asked, squinting her eyes as the wind began to increase dramatically in speed. “Surely this is the work of a very, _ very _powerful mage. If not this rat, then who?”

Corrin opened his mouth to respond, but his attention was snatched away by the whirlpool forming in the sea in front of him. Water spiraled towards a centerpoint before the sea itself opened up, a deep hole being created on the water’s surface. Corrin’s eyes widened as a dark, hooded figure rose from the opening and floated before them.

Hinoka’s grip on Zola’s chains loosened, her voice catching in her throat. “Th-that’s…”

Close up, Corrin was able to get a good look at the figure. To his shock, the actual body was practically invisible. With the long cloak on, only the head and hands should have been visible, but the places where they should have been were instead simply distorted and translucent.

When Corrin heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him, he briefly turned around to see Azura and Kaze approaching. After confirming that it was in fact his allies nearing him, her returned to staring at the hooded figure, who had begun to slowly hover towards the deck of the ship.

“Y-you!” Corrin shouted. Despite his aggressive tone, he and his companions were backing up on the boat’s deck. “You’re…the apparition that took the Ganglari! You caused the explosion in the square!” 

As everyone else kept their distance, Corrin suddenly took a powerful step forward and drew the Yato from his belt. The expression on his face was one of intense anger, but also a strong despair. As the apparition reached the edge of the boat, he let out a cry and raised his sword high in the air. 

“YOU’RE THE ONE THAT KILLED MOTHER!” 

The instant the young prince brought his sword down, the hooded figure vanished into nothingness. What Corrin did not see was the spirit reappearing behind him, this time with a long katana in hand. He whipped his head around upon hearing Azura cry out, only to see the figure drawing his sword back in preparation for a strike.

The attack was quickly parried by Kaze, who used the blade on his arm to knock the blade away from Azura. “Milady! Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine, thank you, Kaze!” Azura glared at the apparition before her as it reached into its robe and pulled out another sword, now wielding one in each hand.

Corrin wanted to bring the assailant down as soon as possible. He lunged at the spirit and attempted to land on its neck, but passed right through. It disappeared in an instant, causing Corrin to land hard on his feet. It appeared once again not far from everyone, this time in a fighting stance with both blades at the ready.

“So, this is the company you’ve gathered? I must say, I’m impressed.” Despite lacking a visible mouth, the spirit did in fact seem to be speaking. Its voice was…slow, monotonous, and impossible to distinguish a gender from. 

While Corrin was shocked to hear the apparition speak, he was still focused on attacking and defeating it. “I know not where you come from nor what your intentions are, but you…you must pay for crimes!”

With that, the young prince confidently charged forward with his sword at the ready. The first horizontal slash was deflected with ease and the spirit used the opening to spin at Corrin with both his blades, only resulting in clashing with the Yato multiple times. Corrin remained blocking the barrage of sword swings that came his way before ultimately forcing the Yato to the right, sending one of the apparition’s blades flying into the air. 

Despite the loss of its weapon, the spirit did not let up. It raised its sword high in the air and went for a vertical slash with astounding speed. Corrin barely had time to react, the Yato clashing with the sword and causing both fighters to stumble back. Corrin’s recovery time was not as fast as the spirit’s, however, and it prepared to strike again only to be met with the blade of a naginata cutting through and disspitating its form.

Taking heavy breaths and hunching over, Corrin looked up at Hinoka and nodded at her. “Thank you, Hinoka. That thing…is it gone?”

Just as Corrin asked his question, those on deck heard the disembodied voice laugh. “Strong…just as I hoped. We’ll be meeting again in due time, Corrin. Stay on guard.” 

The voice faded out and with it the storm. The clouds parted and the waves calmed, the sky shining blue as it previously had been. 

Zola, who had been cowering behind Hinoka for most of the battle, finally opened his eyes with a terrified expression on his face. “W-what was that?! That wasn’t the work of a mage! No magic in all of Nohr or Hoshido could do all that!” 

“No,” Kaze responded bluntly. Standing at Azura’s side with his arms crossed, he slowly closed his eyes and nodded to himself. “It has to be Nohr. No one else would be attempting to stage an attack on us like that. Perhaps you’re simply not fully informed on advances in Nohrian magic?”

“Not fully informed?” Zola parroted with irritation in his tone. Despite his current position, he immediately went on the offensive. “Why, I am the archmage of the kingdom of Nohr! Every sorcerer in the country has me to thank for being able to practice their craft! Why, your country’s outlawed dark magic!”

“Because of its history, you imbecile.” Hinoka took him by the manacles and raised him up off of the deck with a glare. “And I have a correction for you. You _ were _the Nohrian archmage. What, you think they really value you that much? Nohr hasn’t heard a word from you in days and yet there hasn’t even been a whisper about your disappearance, according to our spies. You’ve probably already been replaced.”

After hearing those words, Zola furrowed his brow and grit his teeth. “Ack! Replaced? No…no, King Garon would never replace me! He chose me for the position of archmage himself; I’m one of his most trusted appointees!”

“Are you, now? Why, if the king has put his trust in a worm like you, then his tactician and general must be a joke. This war should be an easy one.”

A vein began bulging from Zola’s forehead and he would have shouted back in retort if he were not stopped by Corrin. “We have to get to Cheve,” he began. “Once we’re reunited with Ryoma, we can move forward with the war effort. I don’t want this to last any longer than it has to.” 

“You want us to go on the offensive?” Azura inquired. “Are you sure that that’s a good idea, Corrin? Hoshido has never been known to be very hostile.”

“Well, maybe we should change that. We can’t just defend from attacks forever.” Corrin let out a long exhale and stared out at the ocean. Soon, they would be in the port city of Cyrkensia. Soon, they would be in Nohr. From there, they would make their way to Cheve and put an end to this little mission they had been on for days. “Nohr won’t let up. They’re relentless. If I know my sister, and I do, she’ll attack over and over until we’re defeated. We can’t just allow that to happen.”

While it had not been made public, Corrin had possessed a feeling that Kamui would be the one leading Nohr for the remainder of the war from the moment he was appointed general. His suspicions were confirmed by Lilith one night when he had asked about her involvement in the army. Lilith was reluctant to tell him, but could not lie and wanted to give him It was almost poetic, really. The docile little brother leading the nation of peace and the hardy older sister leading the nation of war. 

“Your sister?” Azura asked with her eyes squinted. “Camilla has authority over the Nohrian army? Or…do you mean Kamui?”

“Kamui,” Corrin responded in a breath. “I probably should have told you this when I learned of it from Lilith, but she’s apparently leading Nohr’s frontline forces. The same way I’m leading you guys.”

No one spoke for several moments until Hinoka broke the silence. “Are the other Nohrian royal children part of the army? Do they fight as we do?”

Corrin nodded in confirmation with a grim expression. “Yes, they are. Elise just joined a not long ago, actually…anyway, you shouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself having to face one of them in the coming months. I ask that you go easy on them, please. For their sake.” 

“Well now.” Kaze clapped his hands together to draw attention to him and gave a warm smile. “Let’s not get so grim here. I suggest that we go tell the others that things are under control, yes?”

“Agreed,” Corrin said with a nod. Hinoka was about to speak, but stopped herself when her brother simply closed his eyes and walked towards the door.

A chill ran down Corrin’s spine. _ What was that, really? _ he thought to himself. _ What Hinoka said…could that really be true? It’s hard to believe. I know Garon, and he would have taken the first opportunity to tell someone if there was even an inkling of progress towards magic this powerful. Surely one of our spies would have picked up something then. _

If it was not Nohr, then who? Perhaps there was someone out there who was gifted with the ability to manifest invisible puppets. After all, some members of the Ice and Flame tribe were naturally born with the power to manipulate ice and fire, such Flora and Felicia. It was perfectly possible for someone to be born with this kind of ability, but an important question still stood. Why Hoshido?

No matter how hard Corrin thought, the only answer he could come up with was the war. It _ had _to have been Nohr. Maybe it was a Hoshidan anarchist, but that was not very feasible. Nohr truly was the only possible culprit.

Aside from that, the words that the spectral figure spoke to Corrin made him feel uneasy. They seemed oddly personal, as if the phantom somehow knew him. Shaking his head, the prince pushed the thought aside. Dwelling on it any longer would just make him more paranoid.

He absentmindedly took hold of the handle to the door that led below deck. Opening the entrance slightly, he could see that the room was practically in pitch black save for a slight blue glow. When the door was open fully, he was able to take in the full image of what stood before him.

All of his friends—his soldiers—were standing and kneeling against the walls in an attempt to hide from whatever had opened the door. Setsuna, Kagero, Hana, Hinata, everyone. However, almost no one appeared to be frightened at all. They all possessed either nonchalant or determined expressions, save for Sakura who looked scared, clinging to Subaki’s arm.

Corrin took the background in in less than a second, then noticing what was directly in front of him. There, Oboro and Takumi stood with their weapons in hand. The long blade of Oboro’s naginata glinted in the light cast into the room and the ethereal arrow of poised in the Fujin Yumi daunted the dragon.

The instant he saw the weapons aimed at him, Corrin flinched and braced himself for the oncoming pain he was sure to have to endure. However, upon realizing that it was only their leader at the door, Takumi sighed and lowered his weapon, the blue light string and arrow unraveling until they were gone. Oboro followed and placed the butt of her naginata on the ground.

“Mind explaining what exactly went down up there?” Takumi asked, stepping aside and clearing the way for Corrin to enter the room.

Descending the stairs, Corrin took a moment to examine the room. These were the sleeping barracks, meaning that dozens of low-standing beds were lined up next to each other. At the end of the room was a wooden table, on it several wooden bowls and a myriad of fruit. One such fruit was a large, ripe pineapple with bright green leaves. Corrin suppressed his curiosity for a moment before turning around to face Takumi, who had his arms crossed and seemed to be growing impatient.

“Oh, ah…sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Answer my question.”

“Right.” Corrin mentally kicked himself. Talking to people was difficult. “Well, once you all were safely down here, something rose from the water. It ah…it landed on the boat and went to attack Azura. Kaze stopped it, but then it started to fight me. It didn’t last very long, though. When Hinoka attacked it, it disappeared.”

“What exactly was it?” Saizo asked in a gruff tone. “You’re saying ‘it’, so it wasn’t a person. Was it a kind of faceless?”

Corrin bit his tongue. Takumi… “Well, no. It—”

“Some sort of monster? A dragon like you?” Hinata inquired curiously. “What, are all the old dragons rising now?”

“No, it wasn’t a dragon. I’m not sure how to put this, but—”

“Then perhaps some other beast?” Azama suggested. “A kappa? An amabie?”

“No!” Corrin slightly raised his voice, catching himself immediately after. He apologized immediately in guilt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. It was…the spirit that killed Mother.” 

The instant the words left Corrin’s mouth, the atmosphere in the room changed. The air was suddenly thick, growing denser and denser as Takumi’s expression changed. 

“What?” The word hung heavy in the air, lingering until Takumi continued. “What are you talking about? What do you mean?”

Before Corrin could respond, he jumped as he felt a sudden pressure on his shoulders. Turning his head, he was relieved to find that it was only Setsuna, a bored expression on her face as she dried his armor with a white towel. 

“Ah, thank you. It was the same figure that took the Ganglari from me and caused the explosion. We were speculating on what it was, but couldn’t come to a conclusion.”

“Why didn’t you get me?!” Takumi shouted, taking a hard step towards Corrin. “If I was there, maybe it wouldn’t have gotten away!”

Corrin bit his tongue. He struggled to think of a retort, but with Takumi’s furious gaze locked on him, he could not think properly. His heart pounded in his chest and his hands began to shake. Here he was, terrified of his younger brother. How unbecoming for a leader.

“Forgive me, Lord Takumi, but if I may.”

Thankfully, Corrin did not have to swallow his fear, for Kagero had decided to rebuttal on the prince’s behalf. She stepped forward and stood at Corrin’s side before speaking. 

“It was a dire situation. To expect anyone to have thought to rush down here and call someone—anyone—would be unreasonable. Their top priority was to protect us all, not seek vengeance. You must understand that Lord Corrin had only the best intentions.” 

Corrin’s muscles relaxed as Takumi’s gaze gradually softened. The young prince grit his teeth and stared at the ground, his fists tightly clenched. 

“I…I know. I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath and slowly looked up once more, looking Corrin in the eyes. “Is everyone alright up there?”

“Yes. We’re all fine; nobody got hurt.” 

Right on cue, they were joined by Azura, Kaze, and Hinoka. Before Corrin could ask, Hinoka seemingly read his mind and answered the question he had. 

“I chained him to the railing. Unless he decides to throw himself overboard and hang off the side of the boat, he won’t be going anywhere.” 

“Good.” Takumi walked over to one of the beds and sat down on it, running his fingers through his silver hair. “That interruption was…unfortunate. I assume the course of action is still the same, Corrin?”

“Y-yes. I don’t see a reason why this would set us off track. We’ll still going to Cyrkensia and then make our way to Cheve from there. Once we have Ryoma back…well, that’s up to Kamui and her army.” The young prince took several steps back—Setsuna’s footsteps in sync with his—and set down on the bed opposite Takumi. Setsuna sat next to him and set the towel aside, leaning on his shoulder and closing her eyes. “We either stay passive or attack.”

“Kamui?” Oboro asked, raising an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

Corrin bit his tongue and silently cursed at himself. Once again, someone spoke for him. This time, it was Azura. 

“As Corrin is our army’s leader, Kamui is Nohr’s. It is not unlikely that we’ll meet her on the battlefield, so be prepared for that.” 

“She’s a formidable opponent,” Corrin added. “Better than I ever was. And her tactical mind is…it is not to be taken likely. If we are to face her in battle, we had best be prepared.”

Pumping her fist in the air confidently, Hana gave a wide smile and followed it up with a thumbs up. “I’m sure we can take her on! We have the best warriors in all of Hoshido, you know! Maybe it won’t be a total cakewalk, but we can do it!” 

Corrin wanted to respond by telling her that Kamui likely had the best warriors in all of _ Nohr _at her disposal, but held his tongue. Surely Garon had chosen only the cream of the crop for his forces. If his Nohrian siblings were fighting, then that meant that their retainers would be as well. That meant at least twelve strong fighters as well as Kamui herself. 

Right then and there, Corrin made a promise to himself. If he were ever to face his sister on the battlefield, he would be the one to kill her if it ever came to that. If she was to fall, it would be by his hand. It was only right, after all. It was his fault that she was in that position in the first place. Maybe if he had joined her in siding with Nohr, then he would not be feeling this way. But…if she had only let go of her previous ties to her family, then they could have fought on the side of justice together. 

Fighting together—the thing they had always spoken of. Ever since they were children, they had spent their time dueling one another before moving on up to working together to best their eldest brother. They had been side by side their entire lives, so of course Corrin would feel bad over what had occurred the day of his mother’s death. However, he did not feel guilty. He could not feel guilty. All he had done was choose to fight against a ruthless, tyrannical, horrible king of a country bent on draining its neighbors of their resources until there was nothing left; it was Kamui who was at fault. If only she had joined him on that fateful day… 

“I’m sure we can, yes.” Corrin interrupted his own thoughts and forced himself to smile. “I believe in every last one of you. Now, what do you all say to dinner, yes? It is about that time, and I’m sure we’re all hungry.”

“Starving,” Setsuna mumbled on Corrin’s shoulder. She was very obviously drifting off to sleep and making no attempt to hide it, much to her lover’s amusement. 

“I’ll go see about food from the chef,” Takumi said as he stood, starting towards the stairs. 

“Wait, we have our own chef?” Corrin asked. “I was under the impression that we would be eating pre-prepared food. I mean, we are on a ship.”

“Ferry,” Takumi corrected. “And this ferry has four members of the Hoshidan royal family on it; of course we have our own chef.” With a somewhat annoyed look on his face, the youngest prince exited the room while his brother smiled, a warm sense of satisfaction washing over him.

Takumi considered him a part of the family.


	12. The Rainbow Sage

In the southern sea between Nohr and Hoshido was the small island nation of Notre Sagesse. 

According to Peri, it was originally a Hoshidan colony before gaining its independence peacefully through the Treaty of Louvre around two-hundred years prior. Since then, it had become a theocracy under the worship of the Dawn Dragon—the same deity that most Hoshidans were followers of. 

Notre Sagesse was not large by any means. Its population barely reached a hundred-thousand and its economy was lacking. Its small size and relatively simple structure made governing it quite the easy task. It was one of the few countries in the hemisphere that had never engaged in warfare with neither Hoshido nor Nohr. Garon had expressed interest in claiming the territory in the past, but ultimately decided that there would be little value in it.

Atop the tallest mountain the land, dubbed Mount Sagesse, was the Sevenfold Sanctuary. The sanctuary was a temple in which the Rainbow Sage resided. The Rainbow Sage was a wise old man said to be able to grant extraordinary power to those who could survive his trial. To Peri’s knowledge, only four people still living had been known to do so. 

The first one to receive the Sage’s power had been Kamui’s own birth father, Sumeragi. He had done so whilst on a voyage across the sea as a young man when his ship stopped at Notre Sagesse to restock on supplies. The Sage himself had approached him and directed him up the mountain, and Sumeragi returned with an extra spring in his step and power bestowed upon him. 

The second had been Kamui’s  _ other  _ father, Garon. He had specifically sought out the Sage’s power and had gone to Notre Sagesse before any of his children were born. Not much was known about his trial, for he never spoke a word about it to anyone upon arriving back at Nohr. 

Third was an anonymous night rumored to also be from Nohr. According to locals and a few historians, he had shown up in full armor—a helmet concealing his face—and headed straight up the mountain. A day or two later, he came down and left on a ferry immediately. This happened not too long after Garon’s trial, which came as a shock to everyone. Receiving the Sage’s blessing was supposed to be a rare occurrence and here it had happened twice in quick succession. 

Kamui could actually remember Xander at the time of his trial. She was ten years old, so that would make Xander fourteen. He had begun a vigorous training regiment in order to prepare for what he told the twins was a “special test”. From when he awoke to when he went to sleep, he would spend the entire day training. This was during a visiting period, so it made Kamui sad that what little time she got to spend with her brother was being taken up by his training. 

Once he had completed his training, he set off with Garon and Camilla for Notre Sagesse and returned days later, exhausted. When Kamui had inquired about what had occurred, he simply told her not to worry about it and that he was stronger now. 

“It’s national bird is the mallard duck, it’s official language is Hoshidan—but practically everyone speaks Norse. Nohr’s influence on the world is powerful, you know! Oh, oh! And—”

As Kamui stepped off of the ramp and onto the wooden planks of the dock, she held her hand up and gave a forced smile. “Thank you, Peri. I believe that’s all the information I’ll be needing. I must say, you have…quite an encyclopedic knowledge of Notre Sagesse.” 

Peri pursed her lips, thinking hard for a moment, before grinning widely and nodding. “That means I know a lot about it, right? Yeah! I’m pretty good at geography. I got a great education back home, you know! It’s probably nothing compared to yours, though. You’re a princess!” 

As the rest of her army stepped off of the boat, Kamui chuckled. Peri was smarter than she gave her credit for, but her comment about Kamui’s education was not entirely correct. While she had been a studious child and exhibited erudite traits, most of her learning was independent. Truly, all she had ever learned from were her textbooks and Gunter. She was still sheltered and knew that she could not rely entirely on what she had read out of books to get by in the outside world. 

She snapped out of her thoughts when Silas placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with an inquiring raise of her eyebrow, to which he responded “Odin’s got something to tell you”.

The dark mage cleared his throat and stood with his fists on his hips. As he spoke, he moved his arms around and delivered several theatrical poses. 

“Yes! Princess Kamui, I, Odin Dark, wish to inform you that a close companion of mine is currently stationed here with her partner! I do believe that it would be a wise choice to recruit her into our ranks at once!”

As Niles laughed to himself at Odin’s extravagant poses, Laslow’s eyes widened. “Wait, Selena’s here?” he asked. “With Beruka? Why didn’t I know that?” 

“You were not informed? Lady Camilla herself told me. She claimed that she knew how close she and I were, and as such wanted me to know her whereabouts for the next few weeks. I suppose she did not see it fit to tell you.” 

Laslow frowned. “Seriously…? The three of us are like, the triple threat of Nohr’s army. And Odin, we talked about that! Don’t forget that—” Upon realizing that everyone’s attention was on him, Laslow straightened himself out and coughed. “Ah, never mind.” He gave a quick “we’ll talk later” to Odin before Kamui spoke. 

“Selena and Beruka. Those are Camilla’s retainers, yes? You’re right, it would benefit us to have them fight with us. Do you know where they might be?” 

“Unfortunately, I do not,” Odin responded with a grimace. “But fear not! I am sure that with enough time, they will come to us!” 

Nodding, Kamui beckoned for her army to follow her and began to walk across the harbor. She found herself almost immediately next to Laslow, who looked down on her with a grin. 

“Selena’s the girl I mentioned to you a while ago, by the way. I heard things didn’t go too smoothly with you and Peri, so like I said, if you’re interested…” 

With her cheeks slowly growing red, Kamui had to restrain herself from forcing him to the ground right then and there. “While I appreciate the offer, I’ll have to pass. You may have time for your love triangles with Odin, but I don’t have time for anything of the sort.”

“Love triangle?!” Laslow exclaimed. “No no no, that’s not what I was talking about!” He sighed, smoothing his hair back before exhaling to relax. “It’s just…she has someone back home, alright? At least, she  _ had _ . I don’t know the details much, but they split and I don’t want things to go too far with her romantically just in case; I’m only joking when it comes to you. She and Odin have been kind of touching on the whole relationship thing and that has me worried. That’s not a crime, is it?”

“Of course not. Frankly, I would say that it’s none of your business,” Kamui put bluntly. “It’s their relationship, not yours. I wouldn’t get involved.” 

Laslow inhaled through his teeth and scratched at the back of his head. “Yeesh, you don’t pull any punches, do you…”

“I understand your concerns, but if the matter does not involve you then you should stay out of it. It’s fine to have your opinions, but don’t try to interfere. If they want to be together, then let them.” As Kamui finished speaking, she suddenly stopped and surveyed the area. They were approaching the beginning of a road, which she figured a foreign army should likely not be marching through. When she stopped, Peri bumped into her and nearly knocked her over. Luckily, Silas reacted quickly and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back and preventing her from falling. 

“Oops!” Peri exclaimed, covering her mouth. “Sorry! I didn’t realize we stopped!” 

“It’s fine, Peri.” Kamui noticed that Silas’ hands were still on her waist and slapped them away, eliciting a chuckle from him. “Though…I must admit that I don’t really have any clue where we’re going.” 

Elise raised her hand to get her sister’s attention. “We’re supposed to take control of this territory, right? Let’s try to do that without any fighting. We should probably talk to whoever runs the place, right?” 

“That would be my first guess, yes, but there is no one in such a position in Notre Sagesse. The country runs itself; it’s basically in an anarchist state.” Kamui placed a finger on her chin and thought for a moment. “I suppose the highest official would be the Rainbow Sage.”

Mozu gasped and covered her mouth. “The Rainbow Sage?! Does he really exist? Why, back home, he was only a legend!” 

“Yup,” Silas responded. “He’s as real as the hair on your head, Mozu. He should be in the Sevenfold Sanctuary, right on top of Mount Sagesse. But where exactly is that…”

Before anyone could respond, Elise had already beckoned for a local elderly woman to approach them. She was short and frail, a wary expression on her face. The dozen or so Nohrian soldiers wearing armor and wielding weapons would of course intimidate her. Not even Elise’s naturally soothing smile calmed her down. 

“I’m sorry to bother you, Miss, but would you be able to tell us how to get to Mount Sagesse from here?” Elise asked.

The woman’s eyes grew darker as she looked towards the ground. “Yes, I can…” She slowly raised a spindly finger and pointed to her right, north. “The trail starts right over there. I only ask that you try not to cause too much destruction.” 

“Destruction?” Elise tilted her head and pouted. “We’re not here to destroy anything, we swear! It’s a diplomatic visit.” 

“Really? I assumed you were here to deal with the Hoshidan soldiers stationed at the sanctuary.”

The atmosphere among the soldiers shifted immediately. There were Hoshidans here. Kamui figured that after the battle at the border, they had sent troops to guard the Rainbow Sage just in case. Of course they knew that Nohr would start making advancements on other territories. She supposed that she had to admire their foresight. 

“We were not previously aware of that,” Kamui told the old woman. “I thank you for your help. Would you perhaps like something in exchange?” 

The old woman shook her head. “I’ll have to decline. I’m not trying to give you an advantage, I’m only telling you what’s what. I don’t want any fighting.” Before anyone could respond, the woman sighed and shambled off, leaving the Nohrians at once.

“Looks like there’ll be a fight pretty soon, huh,” Silas said as he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. “Think we should go fetch our horses from the boat?” 

“No,” Kamui said quickly. “Let’s try to do this without any combat. We’ll just…explain to them the situation and ask them to leave.”

Niles chuckled. “Oh yes, peaceful resolution. The Nohrian way.”

“We could at least try…” Mozu mumbled. 

“While I may not believe that that will go entirely smoothly, I will follow whatever you wish to do, Lady Kamui,” Jakob said with his eyes closed. 

Giving a nod, Kamui continued marching on with her soldiers behind her.  _ Well, this is just wonderful.  _ She thought.  _ Why wouldn’t there be Hoshidans here? Just my luck. Hopefully Corrin isn’t among them…no, they wouldn’t just station him to guard someone. He’ll likely be among the main army. So, as long as we don’t run into them…  _

The princess chose to focus on the task at hand as opposed to remaining lost in thought. The marching order was the same as it had been every other time they had marched. Kamui led with Jakob on her left and Silas on her right, Peri standing directly behind her. On either side of Peri were Laslow and Odin, and Elise stood behind her, of course having her retainers next to her. Finally, Mozu was in the back, only having Niles next to her, shaking with fear and constantly looking over her shoulder for danger. Silas felt bad about her being with him and suggested that they all march in pairs of two, but Kamui adamantly declined. 

The order was intentional. Kamui trusted Jakob with her life and Silas…made her feel safe. That did not mean anything, of course. Peri also made her feel safe, which is why she was directly behind her. Laslow and Odin were close friends, so it made sense to put them in the same row. Elise had her retainers, and Kamui felt that Niles’ off putting personality might help Mozu to become less meek (though really it just seemed to terrify her). 

It did not take too long for the party to reach Mount Sagesse. Kamui wondered why it was rumored to be so perilous, as the path before her appeared to be fairly safe. Upon realizing that it would take quite a while for them to reach the top of the mountain on foot, Silas groaned.

“Man, now I wish we’d gotten Agro, Cottonbelle, and…hey, Peri. What’s your horse’s name?” 

“She used to be called Marion, after my mommy, but I changed her name to Kamui!” 

Silas, Laslow, and Niles erupted into laughter as the aforementioned princess’ face began to burn hot. “That’s adorable!” Silas said. “When’s the wedding? Can I be your best man, Kamui?” 

“Silas, one day, I swear to the gods, I am going to beat you so badly your descendants will be able to feel it for generations. Actually, I redact that statement. You won’t be able to  _ produce  _ any descendants.” 

Instead of the terror most people would feel upon being threatened by Kamui, Silas only smirked. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”

“W-we should move forward!” Effie shouted before Kamui could transform her arm into a lance. “It’s a bad idea to waste time like this, right? Let’s get a move on.”

Despite wanting to argue, Kamui swallowed her pride and nodded. “You’re right. My apologies.” 

As Silas snicked to himself, Kamui once again resumed her marching with her soldiers in tow. She remembered just how respectful Silas once was to her, when they had first met. His attitude was exactly what would be expected of a knight addressing a princess. He was courteous, spoke eloquently, and treated her with the utmost respect. Their conversations became more casual as time went on, of course, but since they had reunited he had seemed to forget the differences in their social status. Silas may have been a noble, but he was also a knight, and as such he was meant to serve the royal family. To treat Kamui as if she were somehow  _ equal  _ to her annoyed her to no end. The fact that he seemed to take pleasure in annoying her  _ also  _ got on her nerves. She could easily discipline him if she wanted to, however…it was Silas. Punishing him for being himself would be like kicking a puppy for barking. Not even Kamui would do something so cruel. 

Nearly an hour later, the party could see Sevenfold Sanctuary ahead. “Finally,” Elise groaned as she used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead. “Man, that took forever!” 

While the mountain was not nearly as tall as the most perilous peaks in either Nohr or Hoshido, it was the trail that made it so dangerous to climb. Steep angles, narrow paths, and sharp turns made it extremely difficult to march through, and as such the party had to break formation numerous times. 

“Man, it’s a actually good thing we didn’t bring our horses. No way we would’ve been able to make it with them with us,” Silas said as he squinted at the sky. It was noon now, so the blazing sun was at its highest. “We should hurry this up, Kamui.”

The princess sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’d like to not be rushed just once today. Is that so much to ask?” Kamui took a step forward fully intending to walk straight to the Sanctuary doors, but was stopped by Jakob placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Let us not forget the Hoshidans stationed here, Lady Kamui.” Jakob said as he gestured ahead. Immediately, the Nohrians took a few steps back upon seeing a man in Hoshidan armor wielding a spear and leaning against a pillar. He appeared rather tired, his eyes half open with deep purple bags under them. 

Kamui felt Niles tap her on the shoulder. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I can take him out from here. Just say the word.”

“No. Remember, diplomacy first.” Kamui continued to walk onwards, slower this time, until the spearman noticed them and his eyes widened. 

“H-hey!” he shouted behind him and through the open doors of the sanctuary. “There are Nohrians here! Kamui is among them!” 

Not moments later, dozens of Hoshidan infantry spilled out of the doors and stood with their weapons at the ready before the building. In the center stood a rather tall woman with her hair pulled into a short brown braid. She wore plated armor with a unique looking symbol on her chest, so Kamui assumed that she was the leader of the company. 

“Princess Kamui! Or should I say Commander Kamui? State your business at once or go back from whence you came,” she demanded, speaking in a commanding tone.

Kamui took a deep breath followed by a long exhale. “We mean you no harm. My soldiers and I have come to take Notre Sagesse under Nohrian rule and we would like to consult with the Rainbow Sage in order to make that as smooth a process as possible. I’d like to avoid battle if possible, so…I ask that you withdraw your troops.”

“Absolutely not!” the woman responded immediately. “You think that I am as cowardly to allow the enemy to simply force my men to abandon their task? Despicable. Either you turn around or you face us in a battle that you are sure to lose.” 

The princess bit her tongue. She was not fond of stubborness. If she were her brother, she would have continued to plead with the woman until they won her over and retreat if they could not.

But she was not her brother.

“Niles.”

“Gods, I thought you’d never ask.” The next moment, an arrow zipped through the air as swiftly as it was drawn before lodging itself in the shoulder of the woman. 

The Hoshidans attacked at once. Several of Kamui’s soldiers were still on the sloped path upwards to the sanctuary, so she ran forward to allow them to move on. As Odin’s bolts of lightning jumped from body to body, Kamui decided to throw in her own magic. From inside of her cape, she produced an incredibly thick tome with a light blue cover. The pages were worn and yellowed from years of use by a young Leo, but were still legible enough to be used by Kamui. 

The princess flipped open to the center page and read the ancient words printed on them. Focusing her mind on the incantation, the print began to glow blue and she started to feel the enchanted tome’s power flowing from the pages and into her body. She felt her blood chill and let out an icy breath, a blue mist beginning to emanate from her red eyes. When she felt the power culminating in her body, she finally called out the sacred word and unleashed its power.

“ _ Fimbulvetr! _ ”

While Flora and Felicia had been gifted with the ability to manipulate ice and snow due to their tribal blood, others had to rely on tomes for their magic. However, the power of a tome was far more than either of the two could ever hope to do. Dozens of large, sharp spears of ice erupted from the stone ground, both blocking a large portion of the Hoshidans from advancing as well as impaling many. It was a fairly grotesque sight that made Kamui grimace. Many of those that had been caught by the spears had been hit in non-vital places and were left screaming in pain. One soldier had been particularly unlucky and had been twisted into a horrifying shape, being several spikes piercing his legs, arms, and abdomen. He groaned, unable to scream, before his head went limp, his eyes remaining open. 

Despite the horrible sight before her, Kamui had no time to dwell on it. She heard a grunt from her left and reactively raised her hand to block an attack. A thick and wide circle of ice formed in her palm and blocked the club from hitting her. The shield dissipated instantly and Kamui jumped back, then spinning around with her arm extended. Dense sleet followed her hand’s movements and knocked her assailant to the ground. Aiming her hand at him, a beam of light shot towards him and began to cover him in ice. He attempted to scoot back in order to get away, but his legs were already frozen solid. It only took a few moments for him to become completely encased in ice. 

With a shaky breath, Kamui shuddered as she felt the power leaving her body. She warmed up and the mist vanished from her eyes. She had used magic before back at the fort made from the fallen dragon, but this…this was an exhilarating feeling. She felt so  _ powerful _ , producing something from nothing and using it as a weapon. She instantly understood why Leo vastly preferred magic to the blade.

However, despite the rush she had just gotten from using magic, Kamui was still a swordswoman. In one motion, she returned the tome to its pouch in her cape and drew the Yato from its holster, instantly clashing with an enemy samurai. This one did not take too long to dispatch, as Kamui cut directly through the wrist of his sword arm and then through his throat before he could shout. Two more came at her from either direction, though she luckily was assisted by Silas, who shoved a spear through one of them and forced them away. With a smirk, Kamui slammed the hilt of the Yato into the nose of the enemy, dazing him and causing him to stumble back. Then, she stabbed forward and slashed to the side, cutting through the midsection of the Hoshidan soldier. His eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood mixed with the dirt on the ground. 

Taking a quick glance at the rest of her soldiers, Kamui found that they were doing just fine. Laslow and Peri were fighting quite literally back to back, covering each other’s blind spots and moving together as a unit. Their form reminded her of how her and Corrin used to sometimes train. 

These particular soldiers did not seem to know how to deal with heavy armor, as Effie was having absolutely no trouble at all. Every attack that came her way bounced off of her armor and allowed her to swing her lance around to cut down anyone in her way. Arthur and Elise stood close behind her, with the former protecting the latter from any attack with the vigor of a mother lion protecting her cubs. He had been opposed to Elise joining the Nohrian army since unlike the rest of her siblings, she had no way to protect herself. She was strictly a healer, and as such had to be prioritized over others. Due to this, Arthur rarely left her side in battle unless commanded otherwise. 

As for Odin, Kamui took note that while he was indeed good at magic, there were little things that made him seem quite…amateur. Small mistakes. While he was a master at calling out incantations, the magic bestowed within him would flicker out far sooner than it would with your average mage. He also seemed to be more focused on the theatrical aspect of magic than the practical one.

Niles, being an archer, of course kept his distance from the main fight. He stood a ways away and casually fired arrows at enemy Hoshidans, making his mark nearly every time. He seemed quite calm, something Kamui found mildly disturbing. Who could be so calm in the middle of a battle like this? 

With Silas at her side, Kamui noticed that that meant that Mozu would be by herself. Scanning the area for the poor girl, the princess was surprised to find her holding her own impressively well. She had traded in a lance for a sword and seemed fairly adept at handling it. While she had been clumsy and awkward with a lance, her swordsmanship was admirable. She did not swing it around recklessly like many beginner swordsmen did, but instead seemed to know how to use it as an extension of her arm. She jabbed, slashed, parried and countered nearly as well as Kamui did when she first started out. 

Satisfied with how her soldiers were performing, Kamui figured it would be best to eliminate the commander at once. She found her quickly, fighting among her men a stone’s throw away with the wound in her shoulder having been healed. The princess wasted no time, immediately gripping her dragonstone and transforming. Her armor, sword, and tome all vanished and were replaced with the large scaled beast. She dug her claws into the ground and charged forward. 

Using her antler-like horns to easily bulldoze through the enemy forces, Kamui finished off her initial dash by taking one soldier into her claws and tossing him aside. He was flung with enough force that he slammed into the sanctuary wall and bounced off, then lying limp on the ground.

Kamui continued to move forward, lowering her head before quickly whipping it upwards. Just as she had intended, she managed to impale one of the soldiers on her horns. Cutting off his scream, she whipped her head once more and sent him flying over the edge of the mountain.

She had not felt it before, but Kamui suddenly noticed that she was being attacked. She looked back and found that several men were slashing, chopping, and stabbing at her with their weapons. They did not seem to be making any progress, seeing as how her scaled body was incredibly dense and hard to pierce. The expressions on the men’s faces ranged from confused and terrified to angry and eager to kill. She was sure that if people knew of what happened in the Hoshidan square, then people knew of her ability to transform into a dragon. Really, they should have been prepared for this. This only proved to her the ineptity of the Hoshidan army. 

Knocking her adversaries aside with her tail, Kamui soon came face to face with the Hoshidan commander and stared her down. She wielded a long club in one shield and a shield in another, the Hoshidan crest inscribed on it. 

“And so I stand before the beast…this form—a monster—is what you truly are,” she said, tightly gripping her weapon and tensing her legs just in case. “A monster masquerading as a human. Your own mother…you disgust me.”

Kamui growled.  _ I could take you down in one shot in this form,  _ she thought,  _ but no. I’m going to show you who I actually am.  _ The princess reverted back to her normal form with a scowl on her face, an act that surprised the woman before her.

“What, you wish to face me honorably? And with a legendary weapon no less. Fine, I’ll play along.” She grinned and extended her arm, aiming her club at Kamui. “I, Yuzu, will put an end to you, princess of Nohr!” 

_ Kind enough to give me a name before I kill her. It’s not like it matters _ , Kamui thought before drawing her sword.  _ This will be over quickly. _

The woman called Yuzu made the first move. Launching off of one foot, she lunged forward and raised her club above her head. Using her quick thinking, Kamui’s eye glinted and she sprouted two small wings from her back.She had just finished the modifications to her armor that morning and was looking for an opportunity to see how her wings could be used in combat. The princess took a small hop in the air and gave a powerful flap, moving her back about a meter. Yuzu’s club simply slammed into the ground and caused dirt to fly up in the air.

She seemed caught off guard by this development, because Kamui had no trouble taking a long step forward and delivering a kick that split the woman’s chin. Yuzu was knocked on her back, but quickly got up and wiped her bloody chin with the back of her hand. Kamui, however, had no intention of letting her recover. She rushed forward immediately and swung down the Yato, and she would have cut right through Yuzu’s head if it weren’t for the Hoshidan’s helmet. The force from the blow was enough to knock Yuzu’s face into the ground.

Kamui could have stabbed right through her armor at that moment, but for a reason she herself did not fully understand, she allowed Yuzu to get up and back away. She figured that she had something to prove. 

Yuzu, now with blood flowing from a fresh wound on her forehead, glared at the princess and charged forward once more. Bringing her club upwards, her strike was blocked by Kamui curling her wings around herself. They were quite sturdy, which likely contributed to her inability to fly, but also meant that they made for good shields.

The blocked attack did not stop Yuzu from continuing her blows. She relentlessly swung her club at Kamui, coming at her from every angle. Kamui braced herself and prepared to attack when Yuzu inevitably faltered, but she did not expect her opponent’s club to be slammed into the back of her knee. 

The princess cried out in pain and was brought down, kneeling down before Yuzu. Smirking, the Hoshidan warrior flourished her club before raising it high in the air. She swung the heavy weapon down, but no contact was made with Kamui’s head. Instead, Yuzu found her mouth wide open as she gawked at the princess’ hand around her wrist.

Kamui slowly raised her head to meet the eyes of her adversary, then baring her teeth and giving a beastly growl, striking fear into Yuzu’s heart. She tried to pull away from Kamui’s grip, but to no avail. The next moment, she let out a scream of agony as she felt her bones snap and splinter. 

The crunching sound surprised even Kamui herself, though she was more shocked that she was able to crush someone’s wrist so easily. It seemed like her draconian strength had carried over even in her natural state. Yuzu crumpled once her wrist was released and reeled in pain as Kamui stood up, putting just a little less weight on the leg she was struck in. 

As Kamui raised her sword, Yuzu looked up at her with wide eyes, horrified. She had been bested, and now her life was about to come to an end. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a sharp breath, and yet death did not come. Opening her eyes slowly, she was shocked to find the same silver haired knight that was fighting with Kamui earlier standing behind her, holding her raised wrist in his hand. 

“Silas?” Kamui turned her head and scowled at him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Let go of me at once!” 

“Kamui.” Silas simply spoke her name once and used his free hand to gesture to the surrounding area. Looking around her, Kamui’s expression softened. Spread all across the area were the bodies of Hoshidan soldiers, some living, others barely holding on. A handful of soldiers were injured, but would probably not be dying anytime soon. It seemed like these ones were spared by the more benevolent members of Kamui’s army. 

“Oh. I…I see. It seems I let myself go for a moment,” Kamui said to Silas, biting her lip and looking to her feet. “You’ll have to forgive me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the knight responded. “Just try not to get so carried away, alright?”

Before Kamui could respond, Yuzu bared her teeth and began to shout. “I don’t believe we’re done, monster! Look at what you’ve done here. You’ve slaughtered my men, crushed my wrist, and left me lying here on the dirt, humiliated. You think you’re just going to send me back to Hoshido?” She scoffed. “No. Finish the job, or I’ll get right back up and we’ll pick up where we left off.” 

Kamui squinted at the woman on the ground, lowering her sword. “You  _ want _ me to kill you? Why? There’s no reason to; the battle is over. You’ve lost.” 

“I know you Nohrians know nothing of honor, but I have been bested, and as such I must fall here.” Yuzu closed her eyes and lowered her head. It looked like she was groveling at Kamui’s feet. “Now, do it. Slay me.” 

“I’m not going to kill you,” Kamui said, almost disgusted. “You still have men alive. Cut your losses short and return to your country. There is no need to throw your life away. Hoshido is supposed to be a good natured country, yes? I’m sure you will be forgiven.”

Yuzu opened her mouth to speak, but could not, for the wind was knocked out of her. Peri’s boot slammed into her back and she was instantly flattened out on the ground, struggling to breathe as Peri pressed harder onto her spine. 

“No one’s going to kill you, got it?” Peri inquired sternly, glaring down at Yuzu. “Kamui won’t kill an enemy who’s already defeated. She’s nice like that. So don’t argue, got it? Or I’ll hurt you some more.” 

As Yuzu wheezed in response, Kamui stared at her friend with a concerned expression. Peri’s one visible pink eye glinted with…something. Kamui could not quite put her finger on exactly what feeling that was, but she did not like it. It seemed different that Peri’s usual jubilant attitude during battle. It was almost sadistic. 

Yuzu bit down on her tongue, clenching her fists tightly. “I…fine. I surrender. You’ll have your way, Nohrians.” 

With her signature childlike grin, Peri removed her foot from Yuzu’s spine and allowed her to slowly rise to her feet. Kamui frowned. She had once looked so powerful, so regal, but now she stood before them covered in dirt, blood, bruises and cuts. She glared at the Nohrians for a moment before turning around, limping over to go assist one of her men. 

“Woo hoo!” Peri cheered, raising her fist to the sky and hopping in the air. “Another victory for Team Kamui! As if we could ever lose!” 

Gradually, a tentative smile appeared on Kamui’s face. “Y-yes. We haven’t lost yet, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. As long as we keep it up, we should continue to triumph in all of our endeavors.”

“Well, you lost at the border, but that was just  _ you  _ and not the rest of us. Though, I guess you’d count Elise in that—”

Silas was silenced by Kamui pinching his lips between her fingers. “You know, I would expect someone of your social status to have been raised with better manners.”

He grinned as best he could. “I only do it because it’s you,” he said, muffled. 

Shortly, Kamui and her soldiers gathered before the front doors of the Sevenfold Sanctuary. They were more modest than Kamui expected from a place of such high prestige. They paled in comparison to the doors to her father’s throne room and even the front doors of Castle Shirasagi. Nevertheless, Kamui still felt somewhat uneasy as she reached her hand out to open the doors.

Much to her surprise, the doors opened without her fingertips ever making contact with the wood. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced back to her subordinates for confirmation that she saw the same thing that they all did. Judging from the expressions on their faces, she had. 

Now cautious, the Nohrians stepped through the doorway and into the sanctuary. The interior design was distinctly Hoshidan, with wooden pillars colored gold and a red ceiling. The doors were traditional sliding doors, something Kamui had only ever seen in person during her stay at Castle Shirasagi. 

Somehow, they had all managed to overlook the old man sitting in the middle of the main room. He wore simple beige robes and had a long white beard. He sat with two incense candles burning on either side of him and had his hands in his lap. The moment he was noticed, he stood up and opened his eyes with a smile.

While Mozu yelped in surprise, Kamui simply stared. The elderly man seemed unnaturally calm considering the situation. There was no doubt that he had heard or perhaps even bore witness to the battle that had just occurred, and now a group of soldiers wielding weapons had entered his sanctuary. He should have been terrified. Instead, he stepped towards Kamui and smiled. 

“Why, hello there. You must be Princess Kamui. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Kamui pursed her lips awkwardly. “You could tell by the sword, right?” 

“No, no. I have been expecting you here for quite a long time. Come, come.” 

Before Kamui could respond, the old man turned around and began to walk towards the back of the room and towards the door. Despite his old age and weak appearance, he walked at an impressive pace. Not sure of what else she could do, Kamui decided to play along and follow him without protest.

“As you have most likely guessed, I am known as the Rainbow Sage. I know your intention in coming here, and do not worry, I will not fight you. However, now that you’re here, there is something I must tell you.” The sage waved his hand and the door slid open, revealing that it led a balcony overlooking Notre Sagesse. 

“There is?” Kamui asked as she stepped onto the balcony with her companions. The view of Notre Sagesse was quite appealing. It was not the land itself, but rather the beautiful blue sea surrounding it. Kamui continued. “Um…what is it?”

“Your sword, the Yato. It is the key to unlocking the Seal of Flames, an object said to be destined to bring peace to the world. You know this, yes?” 

“Why yes, I do. I have done my research on the sword that chose me, after all,” Kamui responded. “Although, I know not of exactly how I’m supposed to go about unlocking the Seal of Flames, or if I’ll even be the one to do it. The Yato has had wielders before me and none of them have managed to do it, so perhaps I’m not destined for that.” 

The Sage smiled, almost as if he were laughing at Kamui’s naivete. “I assure you, young dragon. You  _ will  _ be the one to unlock the power of the seal. To do so, you will need the power of two—or perhaps even three—young heroes.”

“Wait, perhaps three?” Kamui asked, perplexed. “Which is it? Two or three?”

“Only time will tell. Patience.” The sage put a finger to his mouth and shook his head, making Kamui frown. She did not like to have things kept from her. “Now then, it appears we have more guests.” 

“Why, yes! I believe we do!” 

Kamui’s heart stopped in her chest as the color drained from her face. She knew that voice. Turning around, she was shocked to see the advisor to the king as well as Nohr’s grandmaster tactician. Iago bore a sinister grin on his face as he stepped forward, but that was not what scared Kamui. 

“Hans,” Jakob put flatly. “I see you’ve returned to service.”

He did not speak to her, but Kamui felt Hans’ eyes boring holes into her soul. They were dark eyes, the kind that one would only find on those with malintent. The wounds Kamui had given him had healed completely, much to her dismay. She had hoped they would scar. 

Hans grinned. “Why yes, I have. I got a bit roughed up when we sieged that fort, but it didn’t take me long to get back up to full health. I’m ready to get back to what I do best,” he said, patting the handle of the ax at his side. 

Kamui’s fear turned to anger and she tightly clenched her fists. “You—” she began to shout, but stopped herself…she couldn’t. She couldn’t tell anyone what had happened over the Bottomless Canyon, no, not here. She knew that her companions would believe her, but if she were to reveal it here in front of Iago, he would relay the information to Garon. Hans would undoubtedly deny all of it, and she had no doubt that Garon would take his side in the matter. She’d be branded a liar, a traitor, and be promptly put to the guillotine or perhaps the blade of her own father’s ax. No…she had to remain silent, at least for now. 

“What’s the matter, princess? Cat got your tongue?”

Stifling her fury, Kamui took a deep inhale and closed her eyes. “No. I was simply about to say that you’ll be a great asset to Nohr’s forces…what position will you be taking?”

“I’ll be leading the second company. So, in terms of authority, I’m right under you.” He spoke smugly. He knew how much it enraged Kamui to hear that. Hans had not displayed any skill in the art of war and yet he was promoted to second-in-command immediately. She would have to ask Garon about this when she could.

“Why are you here?” Elise asked firmly, pouting. She hated Iago, so seeing his face where it did not belong upset her greatly. 

Iago put his hand on his chest in offense. “My my, Princess Elise. So much hostility in your tone. Fear not, I only come to send a message from your father. It is a decree from the king himself.”

Now Kamui was interested. “What does he wish?” she asked, leaning in somewhat. 

Iago pointed a long, white finger past Kamui and at the Rainbow Sage. “The Rainbow Sage. You must kill him.”

Immediately, outrage erupted among the soldiers. As for Kamui, she simply stared at Iago and squinted, confused. 

“What? Why? What reason is there for me to do such a thing?”

The tactician scowled. “I do not know, girl. When the king asks something of me, I do not ask questions. You would be wise to follow in my steps.” When Kamui responded simply with a steadfast stare, he rolled his eyes and groaned. “However…if you were to wish to hear  _ my  _ opinion, my best guess would be that he wishes to prevent our enemies from receiving the Sage’s power as you presumably have.”

To Kamui’s surprise, the Rainbow Sage himself spoke up. “If I may. Prince Ryoma of Hoshido had my gift bestowed upon him years ago, not long after Prince Xander did.”

“Ryoma has received your power already…then it would be senseless to take your life,” Kamui proclaimed. She was not aware of Ryoma ever coming into contact with the sage and usually would have been upset by this, but now she was only relieved. 

“Be that as it may, there is still the matter of your twin as well as the other Hoshidan royal children. Even if they were not a factor, a decree from the king is still a decree from the king. Now.” A sinister smile crept across Iago’s face. “Do it.” 

Kamui felt her hand twitch. She aimed her eyes at the ground, biting her lip, until she felt a hand on hers. Looking up, she found Silas to be at her side. 

“Does it matter who gives the order if it’s unjustified?” he asked Iago with a determined expression. “Look, he’s an old man. Why should we kill him? Because the king said so? Don’t you think that—”

Suddenly, a loud slap sounded throughout the room. Silas was left on the floor, a bright red handprint on his cheek. Mozu gasped and immediately knelt down, placing her hands on Silas’ shoulders. The knight bore a look of intense pain, touching his hand to his face and wincing when he made contact. Kamui tightened her fists until her knuckles were chalk white, glaring at Iago.

“Know your place, boy. You were not spoken to, and yet you address me as if I am your equal.” Iago upturned his nose in disgust. “Another slip up from you and I promise, you’ll be left as a burnt stain on the floor. Now. Princess. I won’t ask again.”

Her eyes softening, Kamui turned to face the Rainbow Sage, whose smile had not faded. “Fret not, young dragon. I am an old, old soul. Perhaps I have long overstayed my welcome in this world. My work here is done. Yours, however, is not.”

The Sage gestured to the sword on Kamui’s waist and she placed her hand on it in response. He truly _wanted_ her to kill him. Why? Kamui had never before slain an innocent person. She even refused to kill Rinkah and Kaze—prisoners. She wanted to absolutely refuse to kill this innocent old man. 

And yet, she found herself drawing the Yato from its scabbard.

“Kamui…” Elise whimpered, her eyes filled with sadness. Her elder sister grimaced and shook her head. 

“Look away, Elise. I don’t wish for you to see this.” 

The princess did not avert her gaze. Instead, Effie slowly and gently placed her hand over Elise’s eyes and pulled her close. Kamui could not look at her comrades. Instead, she stared with a grim expression at the smiling old man. Her sword remained raised above the Rainbow Sage’s head, tightly held in her grasp. Her hands trembled and her knees began to wobble. She grit her teeth as she heard Iago yawn. Kamui could not even hear her own thoughts, for they were drowned out by the sound of her blood rushing and her heart pounding in her ears.

“Now, girl!” 

The next moment, Kamui found herself crying out and bringing the sword down with her eyes squeezed shut. She had expected to immediately draw it back and turn around, but instead she gasped. Opening her eyes, instead of the Sage’s body, she found…nothing. 

Only the Sage’s robes remained lying on the floor; not a trace of the old man himself was to be found. Even the Yato had not a drop of blood on its blade.

Iago sneered. “Which one of you did that? What, you think I—Nohr’s grandmaster tactician—don’t know magic when I see it?” his eyes found Odin, who stood frozen. “It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the only mage I see here.” 

“N-no, sir! Odin Dark, while he may be skilled in the arcane, doesn’t yet know how to do anything of the sort! I swear!” Odin responded with a look of terror. 

Iago raised his clawed hand and a red lightning began to manifest within it. “I do not like being lied to, boy. Tell the truth and I promise your death will be far less painful than it will be currently.” 

“He didn’t do it!” Kamui shouted. Everyone in the room was shocked, including Kamui herself. The magic faded from Iago’s hand as he turned his head with an inquisitive look. “He…he didn’t do anything. I would be able to tell.”

“Really, now? Do you have any proof of this?”

“Do  _ you _ have any proof that he did?” Kamui spat. “Did you see him move his hands at all? Mutter any incantations? Place any runes? No, you didn’t. The Rainbow Sage did that himself. Either…either he warped away at the last second, or his body disappeared when I struck him.” 

Iago smirked. “Then tell me, princess. Did your sword touch him at all? Yes or no. Did you feel contact of any sort?”

Kamui bit her lip. “Yes,” she lied. “I know I hit something. He must have had an enchantment placed on him or something of the sort…likely to prevent desecration of his dead body.” 

Even though Iago nodded in agreement, Kamui could sense that he knew she was lying. She could see it in his expression. 

“A likely explanation.” The tactician shrugged his shoulders and turned around, gesturing for Kamui and her troops to follow. “Well now, that’s over with. Come, we’re taking you somewhere before you return to Windmire.”

Kamui briefly locked eyes with her sister before returning them to Iago, squinting. “You are…? But what of our mission?”

“We’ve got that covered,” Hans responded with a grin. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it, princess. Just hop on the ship I’ve had arranged and get some rest, alright? You and your men surely need it.” 

Kamui furrowed her brow. This did not make any sense to her. She had been sent on a mission to take control of Notre Sagesse only to be told that it was no longer necessary when she was about to do exactly that? And now she and her men were being taken somewhere? In addition to that, Iago and Hans must have been sailing right behind them for the two to arrive when they did. She did not like the feeling she got about this at all. 

Once Hans and Iago had left, Kamui turned to face her troops with a despaired look. “I’m…I’m sorry, everyone.”

“Who were those men?” Mozu asked with a frown. “You’re a princess! You shouldn’t hafta listen to them…”

“The one who resembles a snake is Iago, the grandmaster tactician of Nohr. He’s the closest one to my father…anything he knows, Father knows.” Kamui grimaced and slowly put the Yato back in its scabbard. “As for the boar, that would be Hans. Father had him accompany me on my first mission to survey a fort near the border. As a matter of fact…he’s the one that killed Gunter and caused my brief disappearance.” 

Elise gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “He killed Gunter?! Kamui, why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s his word against mine, Elise. Anything I say would just be contradicted by either him or Iago. You already know Father’s never had the best trust in me…”

“But what about now?” Elise walked up to Kamui and threw her arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “You’ve done a lot to prove your loyalty now! You didn’t side with the Hoshidans, you subdued the rebellion in the Ice Tribe, and now this! He has to trust you by now!” 

Kamui felt her heart sink. Seeing Elise be so concerned for her…a small part of her felt good about it, but mostly she just hated seeing her little sister like this. 

“He should, yes, but I’d rather not take that chance. I’m sorry, Elise.” 

The younger princess did not respond. No one did. The band of soldiers turned around and exited the Sevenfold Sanctuary only to be met with a dense wall of gray smoke. 

Coughing, Kamui squinted her burning eyes and ran forward to the edge of the plateau. “What?! Odin, get this smoke out of the way!” 

“Got it!” The mage produced a wind tome from his cape and flipped open to the center, quickly calling out the incantation and casting the spell. From his hand came a strong wind that blew the smoke around them in every direction, clearing the way for everyone to see the destruction beneath them.

Laslow’s eyes went dark. “Good Naga…”

Notre Sagesse was ablaze. Every merchant’s stand, every bathhouse, every home was engulfed in a beautiful dance of orange and red. The streets were flooded with citizens fleeing the fire, many with children in their arms. Kamui could even see balls of fire quickly moving around sporadically. Those had to be people burning to death. On the harbor, all but one ship was burning, the lone ship left untouched being a large one protected by a barrier. 

“S-Selena! Beruka!” Odin shouted. He took off sprinting down the path they had come up, going as fast as he could by jumping off of ledges.

“Odin! That’s dangerous!” Laslow took off after him and Peri followed closely behind. Terrified, Kamui quickly beckoned for her soldiers to follow her as she began to descend the mountain. 

While it had taken them an hour to reach the top of Mount Sagesse, it took them all not fifteen minutes to reach the bottom. Odin continued to call out for his companions with Laslow as Kamui felt her breathing becoming strained. She believed it was the smoke, but in reality, the situation was making her panic. She placed a hand on her chest and tried to steady her breath, but to no avail. 

To her surprise, Silas took her hand and squeezed it. She looked at his eyes and started to calm down somewhat. Despite the situation, he was still so…composed. She was impressed. 

“Kamui!” 

Being suddenly dragged out of her own head, Kamui whipped her head around in order to find the source of the voice that had called her name. Silas half smiled, tapping her shoulder to get her attention and then pointing up. Turning her head to the sky, Kamui felt a blanket of relief drape over her shoulders as she spotted the familiar purple wyvern descending down, also accompanied by a blue one. 

The wyvern touched down on the street and its rider dismounted in a hurry, running over to Kamui and burying her head in her bosom when she pulled the girl into a hug. “Oh, Kamui! I was so worried that you’d gone and burned up on me!” Camilla pulled away from the hug and gave her little sister a dozen kisses on the forehead, then grinning widely at Elise. “And you’re okay, too, Elise! Oh, I’m so glad that no one is hurt!” 

“Camilla! I’m so glad that you’re here, but why? First Iago and now you? I—” Kamui’s voice caught in her throat. “I don’t know what’s going on!” 

“Oh, sweetie, I’ll explain when we’re somewhere safer. For now, let’s just get to the ship, okay?” 

Kamui turned her head and looked at the citizens of Notre Sagesse—fleeing and screaming and crying—with concerned eyes. “B-but what about the people? Shouldn’t we help them?”

“They’re far beyond help now, darling. Come, now.”

Biting her lip, Kamui nodded and Camilla took her hand, Silas releasing her other one as she was led to the port. She saw that next to Odin and Laslow were two girls that she’d never seen before. One was a short girl with equally short blue hair wearing a black headband to keep her hair out of her face. Kamui could not at all tell what she was thinking by the neutral expression she wore. The other girl was a bit taller and had dark red hair set in pigtails. Though they were fleeing from a fire, she was for some reason yelling at Laslow. She figured that that must have been Selena, making the other one Beruka. 

Soon, everyone arrived at the harbour and hurriedly boarded the ship that was waiting for them. It was quite large and accommodating, as if it were built for a king. In fact, Kamui would describe it as more akin to a yacht than a warship, which was what she expected. 

Standing by the edge of the railing were Iago and Hans, looking out over the burning buildings with content looks on their faces. Kamui saw an ember flicker out from Iago’s hand and her eyes widened in horror. She clenched her firsts with a glare and began to march towards the man, but Camilla stopped her by placing her hands on Kamui’s shoulders.

“What the hell does he think he’s doing?” Kamui asked in a thin voice, all of her breath having been exhaled in a frustrated huff. 

With a forlorn expression, the eldest Nohrian princess shook her head. “I’m sorry, sweetie. A few days after you left, Father suddenly ordered the complete destruction of Notre Sagesse. We don’t know why, but I’m afraid it can’t be helped.” She sighed and moved her hair out of her face. “You and your friends here had to march all the way to Dia’s port, right? Iago just up and warped us and the ship there—us being the crew and I along with him and Hans. I insisted I come; I just had to see you again.”

Kamui bit her tongue, her deep red eyes locked on the floorboards of the ship’s deck. Why? Why had Garon ordered her to take control of Notre Sagesse only to order its burning only a few days later? It did not make any sense to her. She felt…utterly powerless. As if she were just a pawn in a game being played by Iago and her father. 

“Oh, but you look so sad!” Camilla hugged her sister once again, this time keeping her in her embrace. “You don’t have to worry, darling. Your big sister’s here now.” 

Despite her dark thoughts, Kamui could not help but smile. Camilla’s presence was always oddly comforting. Despite never having been too close with her siblings that lived away, Camilla was the one she felt the most kinship with. She looked up to Xander greatly and cared much for him, but at times he felt more like a combat mentor than her sibling. On the other hand, Camilla was always warm and loving. 

Camilla was the closest thing to a mother that the twins had growing up. Even now, she still doted on Kamui just as she always had. Camilla would do her hair, cook her food, as well as bathe and dress her. Kamui had never questioned why she was like this; she figured that it was just in her nature. However, she did find it peculiar that while she loved all of her siblings dearly, she was only motherly towards her and Corrin. Perhaps she wanted to make them feel more like a part of the family? That seemed like the likely explanation. 

“Um…Kamui?” Silas tapped her shoulder, prompting her to turn away from Camilla and look at him. 

“What is it?” she asked. That’s when she saw the hulking figure rising from below deck, bathed in shadows before coming out into the sun. He stood tall and strong, his baleful ax strapped to his back even now. 

Kamui’s father’s stature had always somewhat intimidated her. She was so small while he was a goliath of a man. He stood at over twice the length of the Yato and was also incredibly burly. Kamui figured that he could easily render her unconscious with one backhand, though he had never struck her before (she had feared many times that he would, however). In addition to this, she had not seen her father standing in what seemed like forever. He was always sitting on his throne back in the castle. Chills ran down her spine as she pondered what could have prompted him to leave Windmire. 

The king walked towards two of his daughters and Elise quickly joined them. Kamui could have sworn that every step he took rocked the boat. He stood before the three of them and looked down, only to be greeted with smiles.

“Father,” Camilla began. “Forgive me for asking, but…have you been on the ship this whole time? I’m afraid Iago failed to mention that.”

Garon nodded. “Yes. I haven’t left my quarters until now.” He then turned his gaze to Kamui, who froze as if she had gazed into the eyes of a cockatrice. “Kamui! It’s good to see you, my daughter. Tell me, how did your assignment go? Well, I hope.”

Kamui started to calm herself upon hearing Garon’s friendly tone, much to her relief. “It ah…it was. There were Hoshidan troops stationed here, but we dispatched them. Afterwards, we met with the Rainbow Sage, and that’s when Iago arrived with Hans. He told me to slay him, so…I did.” She pursed her lips. “His body disappeared upon death.” 

“So it did, now.” Garon nodded affirmatively and turned his head to the burning nation of Notre Sagesse. “I apologize for making you come all the way out here for what essentially amounts to nothing, but I had second thoughts on the usefulness of Notre Sagesse. In the end, I decided it would be best left destroyed.” 

Kamui could have told him that the trip had not been for nothing and that she had received the Rainbow Sage’s power, but decided against it. It was likely for the best. 

“I’ll make it up to you, however.” Garon patted Kamui on the back with a grin. “We’re going to Cyrkensia to see a musical performance.” His grin turned to a proud smile. “They’re putting it on especially for me, you know.”

Kamui raised an eyebrow. “We are? But…what about the war? Shouldn’t we be moving forward with that?”

“Now now, Kamui. I would have died long ago from stress if I had concerned myself exclusively with war and conquest. You have to make time for the simple things in life, you know.” 

Elise grinned and jumped in the air, clapping her hands. “Oh, boy! I can’t wait! I love seeing performances like that!” 

“I agree; I’m looking forward to it as well,” Camilla added. Kamui wanted to be as excited as her sisters were, but…had they forgotten what had just transpired? People were still burning within their vicinity as they spoke and it was as if they had not a care at all. She had expected Camilla to be apathetic, but Elise? Was she just putting on an act for Garon?

“Ah…” The dragon rubbed her arm and forced her eyes to meet her father’s, her legs shaking. “Yes. I hope that it will be…enjoyable.”

“Mm.” Garon turned around and called out for his right hand man. “Iago! Tell the captain that we can set sail now! Full course ahead for Cyrkensia!” 

“As you wish, sire!” With a flourish of his hand, the mage disappeared in a puff of smoke and not long after the ship began to sail away from the harbor. Kamui stared at the burning streets of Notre Sagesse as they grew smaller and smaller in her vision, until it was nothing but an orange speck in the distance. By this time, Garon had long since made himself scarce and Camilla had gone off with Elise. Kamui appeared to have a gaze that stretched for a thousand yards, a blank expression on her face, and likely would have stayed that way had she not been roused from her daze. 

Peri jumped up behind her and placed her hands on Kamui’s shoulders, startling her somewhat. “Hey hey, Kamui! What’re you doing standing here? Come on and meet our friends!” 

Before Kamui could give an answer, she was being pulled along the deck by the energetic girl. Standing by the staircase to the upper deck were Odin, Laslow, and the two new girls that had joined. Both looked at her and made the color drain from her face. The redhead scowled at her with her arms crossed while the short one seemed to stare right through her soul. How could  _ these  _ two be friends with Peri of all people? 

The short one, Beruka, spoke first. “Hello. My name is Beruka. I hope I will prove useful to you,” she said in a matter-of-fact fashion with a nod of her head. This one seemed blunt. 

When Selena refrained from speaking, Laslow kissed his teeth and shook his head. “Kamui, this is Selena. She’s that uh,  _ friend  _ I mentioned a while back, if you remember.” Laslow winked, driving all sense of dread from Kamui and replacing it with an intense annoyance. 

“So you say you don’t want her to be romantic with Odin because of someone she has at home, but at the same time try and set me up with her? Laslow, are you daft?” 

“What?!” Selena’s face went bright red as she glared at Laslow with her fists balled, the swordsman raising his hands up in defense. “Gods, Laslow! Stay the hell out of things that don’t involve you, especially if it has to do with me!” 

“It was a joke, I swear! I wasn’t actually trying to set you two up!” Laslow cried, slowly backing up from Selena as she walked towards him like a predator encroaching on her prey. Kamui came to Laslow’s rescue (reluctantly) by clearing her throat, drawing the attention of both of them.

“It is a pleasure to meet you two. I am Princess Kamui, though you may call me simply Commander Kamui.”

Laslow wrinkled his nose. “Commander? Come on, the only one who uses any honorifics with you is Jakob, and even then he just calls you Lady Kamui.”

“Laslow, you’re spending too much time with Silas. It’s not good for your health to get on my nerves too much,” Kamui said, deeply inhaling. Laslow took the hint and backed off. 

Selena seemed to like her commander’s attitude and smirked. “Silas? What, you have a boy that gets on your nerves too?” 

Kamui responded with a nod, crossing her arms. “Indeed I do. We’ve known each other since we were kids, but he can be a handful sometimes.” 

“Just like Selena and Laslow! It seems my friends here have more in common than I would have initially thought!” Odin declared, holding his hand to the sky. To Selena’s relief, he had refrained from commenting on the romance between them. “I, Odin Dark, believe that the two of you will become fast friends! I do believe you are similar in personality, after all.”

“Right, right,” Laslow began with a wide grin. “They’re both ice queens on the outside but very easily melted.” 

Both women glared daggers at the mercenary who cowered in response. Kamui figured that Laslow must have always had trouble being himself—with his sly comments and what-not—whenever Selena was around. 

“So,” Kamui began, calming herself, “I assume that you hail from the same place Laslow and Odin do, yes? You’ve known each other since you were children, after all.”

“Mhm.” Selena nodded. “Longer than that, even. The three of us have been together since we were born.” She bit her finger nail and looked to the side with a pained expression. “There are more of us, though. They’re just…not with us right now.” 

Kamui frowned. “Ah…I can’t say that I can relate to experiencing loss such as that, however—”

“They’re not dead!” Selena immediately retorted, her face growing red afterwards. “They’re just not with us right now, like I said. They’re all back home.”

“I understand…” Kamui did not understand, but she felt it best to not press further. “And you, Beruka? What might your story be?” 

“It doesn’t matter,” the girl put bluntly. “My past is irrelevant to my purpose now. I am simply a tool to be used by Camilla and now you. Please, I ask you to refrain from getting attached to me.”

Before Kamui could respond, Beruka simply walked off towards Camilla. Peri giggled and waved her off. “Oh, don’t mind Beruka. She’s even more weird than I am! She doesn’t really talk to people unless they talk to her first, and even then you don’t get much out of her. Laslow says she’s broken.” 

“Broken? Maybe she’s just experienced a lot of trauma. Laslow, how insensitive can you be?” 

Chained in the bounds of Kamui’s harsh words, Laslow simply threw his arms in the air and looked to the sky. “I can’t win. Naga help me—I can’t win.” With that, he walked off, mumbling to himself. Odin called after him and gave chase. The remaining girls all laughed. In truth, Kamui was only joking, but she found a sense of morbid pleasure in bullying Laslow. She figured that Naga was the deity that Laslow worshipped, as she had heard him mention the name a handful of times before, though she did not know anything about this particular goddess.

“Alright Selena, I have to tell you about some of the new friends that we have! First there’s Mozu, who’s a little farm girl that we kind of forced to join us. I don’t think you’ve met Jakob, Kamui’s butler.”

“Retainer,” Kamui corrected.

“Same thing! Then there’s Silas, her boyfriend—”

“Boyfriend?!” Kamui shouted in surprise. “Peri, do I look like a juvenile schoolgirl to you? I don’t have  _ boyfriends _ .” 

Peri snickered. “What about girlfriends then?” 

“No! A-and besides, Silas and I aren’t even like that! Why does everyone say things like that?” Kamui groaned, tugging at her hair. She got the feeling that Selena could relate by the look on her face. 

“Because you two make the perfect couple! You’re childhood friends, he teases you all the time, you scold him, rinse and repeat! It’s cute! At least, that’s how Laslow explains it. I don’t really know why you guys work well together; I can just tell! It’s a gut feeling, you know?” 

The way that Peri spoke so casually about the topic both confused and infuriated Kamui, her face as hot as the fires currently consuming Notre Sagesse. Peri herself was a confusing person, Kamui knew that, but this topic in particular struck a nerve in the princess. 

“You’re entitled to your opinion, no matter how wrong it might be, but I would appreciate it if you kept that kind of talk from Silas. You’ll do that for me as a friend, won’t you?” 

Gasping, Peri slapped her hands to her cheeks and grinned wider than anyone had ever seen her grin before. “Oh my gods! That’s the first time you’ve called me your friend!” Realizing the responsibility that had been placed upon her, Peri’s expression grew serious and she made her hands into fists. “Alright, Kamui! I promise I won't let you down!”

Despite not thinking that the request was all that difficult, Kamui could tell that it was very important to Peri, so she simply shrugged it off. “Thank you, I appreciate that. Now then, Selena. I have to ask, how exactly did you manage to earn the position of the retainer to she who is second in line for the crown? That’s quite an enviable position.”

“I was recommended personally by Laslow. Same for Odin over there. The king saw what we could do, and, well, here we are.” Selena sighed and stared at the shipdeck, looking as if she was recalling back to a painful memory. “It wasn’t easy, if that’s what you’re thinking. Odin was still kind of new to magic, so he had to put a lot into his practice.”

“So he hasn’t been doing magic for long? I’d assumed as much. What did he do before?”

“Swordsman.” Selena said with a hint of annoyance in her tone. “I’d rather not talk about it; it was annoying.” 

“Well, in that case, I’ll leave you to it.” Kamui let out a deep breath, stretching her arms as she watched the smoke in the distance finally disappear from sight with a hardened expression. “I think I’ll spend the rest of the day by myself. It was nice meeting you. Peri, if anyone not part of our party asks where I am, just keep giving them wrong directions.”

And with that, Peri gave a soldier’s salute as her commander turned around and walked away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few additional players have entered the fray, both new and old. Fun fact, I'm pretty sure that this chapter is the only one without any scene transitions. Next chapter is one that is VERY important going forward, so I hope you all look forward to that! Comments and kudos sustain my life force, remember. Have a good one!


	13. Reunion

Corrin had nearly drowned. 

It was his fault entirely—everyone could agree on that. Being the type of person he was, he of course did not try to blame anyone. It was a simple mistake anyway. Water from the waves crashing against the dock had splashed onto the gangplank and caused Corrin to slip and fall into the water below. 

He was not a very good swimmer. While he had been taught the very basics by Camilla when he was nearing the age of ten that was the only time he had ever practiced. He had never had to actually swim before that moment, so he was left flailing around in the icy cold water before a hand wrapped around his arm and began to pull him up. Whoever was helping him was struggling, but Corrin felt another hand grab his other arm. This time, he was successfully pulled up onto the dock. 

Gasping for breath whilst coughing up seawater, Corrin began to relax upon feeling a gentle hand rub his back. Setsuna, no doubt. However, he was a little surprised to see just who had pulled him out from the water. Takumi stood before him, drying his arm with a towel (presumably provided by Felicia; she always seemed to be able to pull cleaning supplies from nowhere). Next to him was Kagero, who was simply using the scarf hanging from her neck to dry herself off. 

“Th-thank you. Both of you,” Corrin sputtered. Setsuna helped him to his feet and he began to shiver from the water soaking through his armor. 

“Be more careful next time. You’re not cold blooded, are you?” Takumi inquired as he handed Felicia back the towel. “We’re going to need to warm you up. Hey, Rinkah.”

“I’ve got it.” Approaching the young prince casually, the Flame Tribe princess clapped her hands and began to rub them together as if she were warming them up. Corrin soon found that this was exactly what she was doing, as they burst into flames not moments later. She placed her hands on Corrin’s armor and he nearly panicked, but to his surprise, he was not set on fire. “They won’t ignite or anything, so don’t worry about that. Just stay still for a second.”

It did not take long for Corrin to warm up completely, and his now heated armor made him feel quite toasty. The prince smiled, now extremely comfortable. 

“Thank you. I wasn’t aware that you had magic like that.” 

Rinkah wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Magic? Don’t make me laugh! Don’t you know that those with the blood of the chief of any tribe are gifted with abilities like that?”

  
“All of them? I’m sorry, I assumed it was just the Ice Tribe. You see, Felicia here can do the same.” Corrin gestured to his retainer, who grinned and produced a small flurry of snow in her hands before blowing it away. The wind blew the snow directly into Azama’s face. While Felicia gasped and began to apologize, he simply laughed. 

Rinkah squinted. “You’re a princess of the Ice Tribe? I was not aware of that.” 

“Our little gang’s just full of royalty, huh?” Setsuna said with a slight chuckle as she played with Corrin’s hair. “What about you, Hayato? Are you royalty, too?” 

The short diviner blushed, crossing his arms. “N-not by blood, but Fuga is my adopted father. I can’t do what he can…b-but I do know wind magic!” 

Scowling, Rinkah left Corrin’s side and slapped Hayato on the back of his head. “Don’t speak like that! Magic you learn from tomes is NOT the same as the gifts you receive at birth as the chief’s offspring! Are you saying that any random mage with a knack for flames has abilities comparable to mine?” 

“O-of course not, Rinkah!” 

“That’s what I thought!” 

As the rest of the party began to chat among themselves, Kagero approached Corrin and Setsuna with a smile. “I’m glad you’re alright, Corrin. It would have been a tragedy to lose our commander by a death as unfortunate as drowning. Tell me, do you know much of Cyrkensia’s history?” 

Corrin sheepishly smiled. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t. I haven’t really had time to study up, what with the whole war thing and what-not.” He glanced behind him at his aloof partner, who gave a small smile back. “What about you, Setsuna?” 

“Well, the whole city used to be the capital of Nestra— the country—but Nestra doesn’t exist anymore. It was conquered and subse…subseque—subsequently absorbed into Nohr. I think that happened…you’re twenty, right? Then it would have been right before you were born. Did I say that right?” 

“Yes, you did.” 

“Nice.” Setsuna chuckled. “Anyway, the city itself is like, a huge tourist spot for rich people from other countries. Sure, the process of travelling to Nohr legally is a hassle, but they say it’s worth it just to hear the singers in the opera house. Apparently they have reeeeal pretty voices, just like you and Azura.” 

Corrin blinked. “You think my singing voice is pretty?”

“I think everything about you is pretty.” 

Kagero could not help but snicker, hiding her face behind her large scarf. “You two remind me of Saizo and Orochi when they first got together. I am happy that you are happy. Now then, I—” The kunoichi interrupted herself, quickly grabbing hold of a dagger from her belt and taking a fighting stance. She turned to the left, facing directly towards a narrow alley between two buildings. “Everyone, stay on guard.” 

Upon noticing Kagero, the rest of the party took hold of their weapons quickly and prepared to attack. The fishermen and sailors nearby looked fearful, but their worries were quelled by the call of one of their own. 

“It’s just Kaden!” a sailor near the alley shouted. His peers sighed with relief and resumed their activities, confusing the Hoshidans greatly. To their surprise, instead of an assailant appearing from the alley like they suspected, they were met with quite the peculiar being. 

This being appeared to be human at a glance, but closer inspection would reveal two perky, furry ears sprouting from beneath his shiny blonde head of hair. He wore a blue shirt and matching slacks, complete with sandals that did not look like they were made for running. He ran directly up to the army with no fear in his eyes, but instead a smile on his face—a smile that displayed his prominent canine teeth.

“Hey! You guys are human, right? You look Hoshidan, too. So that’d make you human Hoshidans!” 

Corrin squinted. He was immediately confused as to what this person was inquiring, but upon receiving a glance from Azura, he knew that it was up to him to do the talking. 

“Well, yes. We are both human and Hoshidan—for the most part. And you are…?”

“I’m a kitsune and I’m Kaden!” he said happily. Corrin felt relieved; he had read about Kitsune before. They were a tribe of people that were able to transform into foxes, or rather a tribe of foxes that were able to transform into people (scholars could never agree on which it was). They were native to Hoshido, so Corrin was baffled as to why there was one so far from home. “I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I have!” 

“What are you doing so far from Hoshido?” Azura inquired, ignoring Kaden’s question. “I thought that kitsune never left their tribes.”

“Yeah yeah, they don’t. I haven’t left, by the way, I’m just here returning a favor. See, I wandered off from my tribe a little while ago and some nice humans protected me from a couple of poachers, so I had to help them out with something. I asked some other people to help me out with returning that first favor, and then I owed them something, and the cycle continued until I ended up here! Now, can you help me or not?” 

Takumi rolled his eyes, the bowstring and arrow of the Fujin Yumi dissipating. He was the last to put his weapon away. “I’m sorry, but we’re on a mission here. I’m afraid we can’t help you.” 

Corrin bit the inside of his cheek. “Actually, it depends on what the favor is. I’m sure we can spare a little bit of time. Ryoma isn’t going anywhere, after all.” 

“That may be true, but I don’t think that a baby is going to wait for us to get there to be born,” Takumi replied through grit teeth. Oboro placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

“Hey now, relax. We probably have time to spare, don’t fret too much over it, alright?” Oboro told him. He grumbled, shaking his head before speaking.

“Fine. No more than a few hours, alright?”

Corrin gave Takumi a warm smile. “Thank you, Takumi. Now then, Kaden, right? What is it that you need?” 

“You’ll help? Nice!” The kitsune turned around and cupped his hands over his mouth, calling back into the alley he had emerged from. “Hey, Layla, it’s alright! These guys are friendly and they said they’ll help!” 

Moments later, Corrin was surprised to see a young woman exit the alley and step into the light. She was a frail little thing, her hands clasped together over her chest and a despaired expression on her face. Her pink hair was cut in a short bob and she wore elegant garbs that Corrin would expect to see on a Nohrian dancer, a lace veil, a white top with a gold trim, and her midsection as well as her arms were covered by a pink see-through fabric. The woman’s cheeks were stained with tears and her lip was quivering.

“This is Layla,” Kaden began. “Do you want to tell these guys what’s up or should I?” 

The girl sniffled and wiped her damp face with the back of her hand. “It’s fine, I can explain. It’s my mother—she’s sick. I’ve just received a letter telling me that her life could come to an end any day now…she lives in a village that is rather far from here, and I’ll have to leave today if I want to make it within three days. I know that she might live a bit longer, but I don’t want to risk it!” 

Corrin nodded, his face having grown dark. “I’m sorry, that must be horrible. Is it transportation you want? I’m not sure that my party and I will be able to escort you, but I _ am _ a prince. I could probably pull some strings and have a caravan take you to where you need to be? However, we _ are _in Nohr.” 

“Prince?” Layla parroted. She took a step forward to get a closer look at the party before gasping, covering her mouth with her hands. “Prince Takumi! And Princesses Hinoka and Sakura. Then you must be…Corrin! Oh no no no!” She shook her head and moved her hands up to cover her face, then turning around. “I can’t bother you over something like this! I’ll find another way!” 

“Oh, don’t let that get in the way!” Corrin pleaded. “Please, just tell me what the problem is and I’ll see if there’s anything we can do to help.” 

Slowly, Layla uncovered her face and faced the party once again, her lip quivering. “I…I would leave today, but I have a concert this even for King Garon that I can’t get out of, and…” 

Layla’s voice seemed to fade to nothing as Corrin’s heart sank. He could hear the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his chest, as loud as a mallet banging against a drum. He felt like he was sinking to the bottom of a murky lake, his vision becoming cloudier by the moment before eventually fading to black. 

Garon was here. 

“Corrin. Corrin!” 

The young prince was snapped out of his daze by his younger brother shaking his shoulder, looking into his eyes with a fire. “You heard that, right? Garon is in Cyrkensia! We could take him out right now!” 

“I’m not sure that that’s a good idea, Takumi…” Kagero began. “At least, without preparation. Garon will undoubtedly be accompanied by bodyguards and the like. We won’t be able to get to him easily.” 

“H-he always requests a performance from me particularly. He seems to have grown fond of my voice…he’ll be told for sure if I’m not available, so I can’t leave. If he finds out that I’m not there, there’s no telling what he’d do to the organizers!” 

Layla was right. Garon was always unpredictable when he was told “no”. Sometimes he’d exile the person responsible, other times he’d have them executed, and he would seldom bestow upon them the privilege of being killed by the king himself. Corrin thought about what their course of action should be, but before he could pitch an idea, the woman who was essentially his second in command spoke up. 

“I could perform in your stead.” 

Everyone looked to Azura with a confused expression, all except Azama. The wise sage knew immediately what her plan was and laughed. “Oh, right you are, Azura! How simple minded of you all to not know what she’s suggesting.” 

Pouting, Felicia crossed her arms. “Well, then you tell us! They don’t look anything like each other, so how could she possibly do that!” 

“If we’re going to lug around that worm we call a mage, we may as well get some use out of him. Did you forget already how we came across him? He’s skilled in illusion magic. He could easily make Azura appear to be Layla, could he not?”

“I didn’t know that! I wasn't there when you guys got him!”

“Well, you never asked either.” 

Azura cut their debate short. “You’re right, Azama. Zola, is that something that you could do?” 

The mousy mage furrowed his brow, scratching at the back of his hand. “I…I don’t know. If Garon found out, I’d be killed on the spot.” 

His keeper leaned in next to his ear and spoke in a hushed tone. “I promise you, if you don’t at least try, you won’t ever get to see Garon again in the first place.” 

Immediately, a shudder ran down Zola’s spine. He’d grown terrified of Hinoka over the last few days and was not interested in invoking her wrath even further. With a moan of acceptance, her nodded his head and cast his gaze down onto the dirt. 

“Ugh…to help kill the king of my home country. It’s…dishonorable.” 

Corrin approached the mage and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder, making him look up at the young prince. He stared at him with pleading eyes. “Please, Zola. You must understand that we’re only trying to end the war as quickly and peacefully as possible. I’m sure that once Garon is dead, Xander will ascend to the throne and will be much more open to negotiations. He’s a kind hearted man.” 

“Assuming he survives the rest of the war…” Hinata mumbled, uncomfortably rubbing his arm. 

Reluctantly, Zola nodded his head, his hands beginning to tremble slightly. “Damn it all. I suppose I can’t argue with that…fine, I’ll do it. But I need you to understand the way my magic works.” He stood up straight and took a deep breath, readying himself to cast a spell. After calling out the incantation, there was a puff of black smoke and _ poof _, he was suddenly a perfect copy of Princess Hinoka herself. 

“When transforming myself, I copy everything but the brain. Blood type, internal injuries, you name it. This includes vocal chords,” Zola said in Hinoka’s signature raspy voice. “However, when I cast the spell on others, I can only copy what is immediately apparent. Height, weight and the like. Azura will still sound like herself, but only _ look _ like Layla here.” 

Hinoka’s face burned as red as her hair. “Wh-why’d you choose me?! You insolent, vile, perverted, good for nothing—” The princess hurled insults and expletives at Zola as she struck him in the back and sides several times with her fists. He cried out in pain with each blow and protected his head with his arms, struggling to cast the spell once more. Once he did, he was once again consumed by smoke that cleared and revealed his true form.

Stifling a laugh, Azura put her hand to her chin and nodded. “I understand. I’m not concerned, however. As long as I make my performance believable, it’ll work out fine.” 

“So, let’s go over the plan from the start, yeah?” Orochi suggested, resting her chin on the back of her hand. “We have to make sure everyone knows what we’re doing.” 

“Right, of course,” Corrin replied with a nod. “Layla, about how long do we have until this happens?” 

“Well, the performance is scheduled for nine, so...six or so hours.” 

A smile made its way onto Corrin’s face and he glanced back at the ferry they arrived on. It was sailing away and already quite a distance from the dock. The prince gave a determined sigh and eyed the alley that Layla and Kaden had emerged from, looking to open the portal to the Deeprealms. 

“Eight hours…” he said in a whisper. “That’s plenty of time.” 

* * *

Kamui had only ever been to an opera house once before in her life. 

She was eight years old at the time, and after a conversation over dinner about how the twins had never seen a performance of any sort, Garon promptly took the both of them to the highest regarded opera house in all of Nohr, called the Vasterius Opera House—named for the city in which it was located. She was able to recall only a few things from the trip. She remembered that Corrin was completely enamored by the woman singing, she remembered that the woman’s voice was more soprano than she ever thought someone’s voice could be, and she remembered that the woman was absolutely stunning.

The blurred memory of the event was a pleasant one, but not significant enough for Kamui to be excited about attending a performance. According to the advertisements she had seen on the carriage ride through Cyrkensia, there was to be only three performances and one of the singers was to sing for over an hour without a break. Her voice would undoubtedly be shot well into the performance and that would muddle the whole experience. Kamui thought that the event was poorly planned and questioned why this particular opera house was so renowned. 

While it did sadden her a bit, it made sense that her entire squadron wasn’t permitted to sit up in the balcony with her and her family. High above the stage, Kamui sat behind her father and looked down over his head. Jakob and Elise were on either side of her while Camilla was the only one to sit by Garon’s side, occasionally glancing back to wave to her little sisters as they waited for the show to begin. 

The Nohrian forces weren’t far behind, of course. Some had chosen to sit in the standard ground level seats while others had opted to simply wait nearby. While they were not anticipating an attack, they _ were _still at war. If the king were to go out in public, he had to be protected. That is why as Kamui listened to Garon and Camilla converse about the velvet carpeting of the stage, she traced her finger along the indentations of the Yato’s hilt. 

The opera house itself was a unique one. The seats of course ranged from being placed at ground level to several meters in the air and surrounded the stage on all but one side. The stage itself was really just a small portion of the opera house floor, the rest being a colossal pool of water filled with several boats of varying sizes. Kamui wondered which architect came up with _ that _ idea, but came to the conclusion that they were only there because they were aesthetically pleasing. 

“Hey, Kamui!” Elise whispered, leaning over to her sister and poking her arm. “If you think that one of the ladies performing is cute, then you should go see them after the show! Who knows what might happen?” 

Kamui stifled a small smile while Elise giggled to herself. “Elise, I’m in my armor. I’m not exactly the most stunning woman in the world right now. I’m sure I’d just intimidate them.” 

“That’s not true! You’re beautiful no matter what you wear!” 

“I concur,” Jakob added. “I believe that you’d be able to steal the heart of any man or woman if you pleased.” 

With a blushing face, Kamui waved their comments off. “You flatter me far too much, really. I do appreciate the compliments, though.” 

Suddenly, the lights began to dim and Camilla glanced back at Kamui, an excited smile on her face. Kamui set her sword down at her side and adjusted her cape, leaning back and getting comfortable in her seat. She made a mental note to figure out a better design for her cape. It had a pouch on the interior where she could store a tome, but outside of combat, it just got in the way. 

The balcony became cast in shadow as the stage was bathed in spotlight, illuminating the center of the opera house for all to see. From the tunnel in the back emerged a tall, handsome man with a well defined jawline and burgundy hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a seemingly expensive black and red checkered suit and walked to the center of the stage with his hands behind his back. He cleared his throat and produced a glowing baton from inside his jacket and spoke directly into it, his voice magically resonating throughout the opera house.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Cyrkensia Opera House!” He paused for applause and cheers, then resumed speaking when it died down. “I am your host for the evening, Matoi. Unfortunately, the usual announcer for this fine establishment fell suddenly ill, and so I had to step in to fill the role.” 

Little did the audience know, the actual host—a middle aged man with a baritone voice—was currently in a deep slumber courtesy of Hoshido’s finest, Orochi. In the dressing room of the opera house, she kept a close eye on him with Felicia and Azama, kneeling down at his side as he snored loudly.

“Man, this one’s a heavy sleeper. The spell isn’t supposed to last this long.” 

“Your typical slugabed,” Azama added with a sigh. “Oh, how I loathe those afflicted by sloth.” 

Crouching on the catwalk were Corrin and Kagero. Kaze and Setsuna were also positioned high above the ground, but on the opposite side. Kaze looked to his commander for the signal and Corrin held up two fingers, letting him know that there was little time until they struck.

“You look troubled,” Kagero told him, staring intently at his face. “Could it be that you’re scared of heights?” 

“Do I?” The young prince shook his head and rubbed his hands on his face, then letting out a deep breath. “Sorry about that. I’m not scared of heights, but…Garon. He was my father up until a few weeks ago, and I haven’t seen him since. Looking at him now…it’s a lot.” 

Kagero turned her head to match Corrin’s gaze. Sure enough, the king of Nohr was sitting on the uppermost balcony, front and center. Every row of seats behind him was cast in shadow so dark that they couldn’t see a thing, and even the king himself was slightly obscured by the darkness. His expression was steadfast and stoic, just as she had seen in all the portraits. Kagero had of course never seen the king in person before, and now that she was this close to him, she could practically feel the menacing aura radiating from his being. 

“I understand,” she said with a nod. “Separating oneself from the person they once considered family cannot be easy. I can’t say that I can empathize with how you must feel, but I know that you must be hurting.” 

Corrin’s face wavered from frowning to smiling before settling on a gentle grin. “Thank you, Kagero. I appreciate that more than you could know.” Kagero winced at the same time he said her name and his face returned to a frown, but this time it was one of concern. “What’s the matter? Did I say something wrong?” 

“Well, no, it’s just that…” The kunoichi stared down at the water below as she pursed her lips, a red tint appearing on her cheeks. “I apologize for bringing this up at such a poor time, but…you’ve been mispronouncing my name.” 

Corrin blinked. There were no words said for several moments, the only sounds being the low humming of the light fixtures and Subaki’s opening announcements from below. All he could bring himself to say was “What”. 

“I know you’re not used to Hoshidan as a language, so I don’t fault you, but it has been bothering me recently. I assumed you would have picked up the way others were saying it, but I suppose not. You’ve been saying _ Kagero _with a long ‘e’ while also putting emphasis on the ‘ge’. It’s supposed to be a soft ‘e’ with emphasis on the ‘Ka’. KAH-gero.” 

Corrin felt the blood rushing to his face as Kagero explained, biting her lip when she finished. “I…Gods, I’m sorry. I don’t know how I didn’t notice that earlier. You must think I’m a fool.” He covered his face in his hands and bent forward even more than he already was, absolutely mortified. 

“No no no, it’s fine! It was a simple mistake! You weren’t _ too _off either, so I promise you that I take no offense!” Kagero rubbed his back in reassurance, only stopping when Subaki finished his speech and retreated back through the tunnel, the crowd erupting into cheers as the star of the show emerged from the same tunnel. 

To anyone who had not been specifically chosen by Zola’s spell, they saw Layla, who by now had already left to go see her mother. To those who _ were _ chosen, however, they saw Azura standing there in all her glory. Despite the fact that she was disguised, she had insisted that she wear a specific outfit that she had Lilith make for the occasion. It was practically identical to what she usually wore, but the color scheme was an indigo and deep purple as opposed to her usual light blue and weight. In addition to this, she wore a black nylon veil that concealed her face from below her eyes, embroidered with gold patterns. 

Kagero nodded to Corrin once the music started up, a simple bongo beat with added tambourine. Corrin held up four fingers vertically then turned them so that they were horizontal, giving Kaze and Setsuna the previously agreed upon signal. Kagero took a single shuriken from her pouch as Azura began to sing, the plan finally being set into motion. 

“_ Embrace the dark, _ ” Azura began, holding both hands up to frame her face. From the air, she drew droplets of water that surrounded her arm. “ _ You call a home. Gaze upon an empty white throne. A legacy of lies, a familiar disguise. _” 

As the bagpipes began to come in, Azura’s dancing became more erratic, implementing sudden turning of her hips as well as stomping her bare feet on the ground. It was a dominant yet somehow serene gesture, one that enthralled Corrin and caused him to stare. He snapped himself out of the trance, reminding himself that he had work to do. 

“_ Sing with me a song of conquest and fate, the black pillar cracks beneath its weight, _” Azura continued, her powerful voice resonating throughout the building. As she danced, her arms spiraling and twisting around, more and more water appeared around her. She seemed to be drawing the moisture from the air and using it to add to her dance, something that Kamui found to be quite intriguing. What she also found intriguing were the slight grunts and groans she was hearing from the crowd. 

It was not everyone—not by a long shot—but Kamui’s sensitive ears picked up several individuals who appeared to be quite agitated by the singer’s song. Even her father was letting out groans of increasing discomfort. Camilla put her hand on his shoulder to make sure that he was feeling alright, but he roughly pulled away from her. 

“_ Night breaks through the day! _” Azura called, raising her arms in the air. The water spiraled around her in a cone—ending at her fingertips—before falling down and spiraling outward across the entire opera house. Dense strips of water covered the stage, splashing several audience members in the front row as they called out in shock. 

Azura’s pendant glowed intensely and levitated off of her. The songstress smiled under her veil as she danced, placing her hand over her hip as she stepped to the side, pirouetting before cupping her hands over her chest. “_ Hard as a stone, lost in thoughts, all alone. _” 

Suddenly, the king doubled over and fell out of his chair, clutching at his chest. “Father!” Camilla called, kneeling down to his side as he cried out in pain. 

In one section of the audience stands, Hayato stood up and called out an incantation from his tome, gripping his wrist tightly and aiming at the ground. Wind began to come directly from his hand with the force of a small tornado and blew his clothes and hair up, forcing those in the stands to either flee or be blown away. In another section, Saizo stuck a shuriken in the rafters which promptly exploded, making all the spectators in the area run away screaming. No one was caught in the flames of Saizo’s explosions, though a few were surely trampled as everyone rushed to escape. 

Once Azura stopped dancing, Corrin knew that it was his time to strike. His red eyes glinted and tore his cape off, sprouting draconic white wings from his back. Unlike Kamui’s, Corrin’s were large and easily able to wrap around him completely. After nodding at Kagero, he kicked off the catwalk and promptly began to glide towards the balcony, his Yato in hand and a fire in his eyes. 

“GARON!” he shouted as he soared at an increasing speed towards the king, ready to strike. He saw the man on his knees, weakened by Azura’s song, and smiled. Finally…finally this was all coming to an end. The war would be over, no one else would have to die, and he would have avenged his mother and father. “Your retribution comes NOW!” 

Time seemed to slow down as he reached the railing of the balcony and drew his sword back, aiming directly for Garon. But then he saw Camilla. He saw his elder sister with one hand on her father’s back and the other on her chest, bearing a look of complete shock as she watched her brother fly at her father with murderous intent. He wavered briefly, but knew that there was no time for mistakes now. If he failed, he may never get the opportunity again. 

That was when he saw Elise, her eyes wide and her hands over her mouth. His little sister…was he really about to murder a little girl’s father right before her eyes? He had to. It was his duty to both kingdoms. 

_ I’m so sorry, Elise _, he thought to himself as he focused on the Nohrian king. At this point, all he needed to do was swing his arms upwards and strike, and his sword would cut right into Garon. This man…this man had caused so much senseless death over the years. So much pain for Corrin. So much pain for Hoshido and so much pain for Nohr. It was only fitting that the boy he raised as his own would be the one to end his life.

Time really did seem to freeze when he swung his sword and only made contact with another. 

His momentum came to a halt and he nearly flipped forward and crashed into the seats. Stepping out of the shadows and blocking Corrin’s Yato with her own was Princess Kamui herself. Veins bulged in her hands from gripping her sword’s hilt and rage burned in her eyes as she bared her sharp, beastlike canine teeth.

The twins locked eyes—Kamui’s fierce, determined; Corrin’s shocked and terrorized. It had been weeks since they had last seen each other, and Kamui’s words echoed in Corrin’s head.

_ It was your sword. _

Tightening her muscles, Kamui let out a cry of effort and forced Corrin back when she pushed her sword forward, sending the boy spinning through the air. He wasn’t at all used to flying, so he struggled to find his balance while frantically flapping his wings. 

“C-Corrin!” Elise shouted, pointing a trembling finger. “Kamui, it’s Corrin!”

“Jakob, Elise! Get back with the others!” 

“But—”

“NOW!” Kamui barked. Jakob took the hand of Nohr’s youngest princess and ran away, Elise calling out for her brother. “Camilla, I need you to get Father out of here. Quickly. Can you do that?” 

Camilla struggled to stand as she slung the large man over her shoulder, then nodding to Kamui. “Yes, I can.” She began to walk as fast as she could towards the exit before turning her head to meet her sister’s eyes. “Kamui, darling, please…don’t hurt him.” 

Once Camilla was out of sight, Kamui focused her attention back on her brother who had just barely managed to catch himself in the air, flapping his wings at a steady pace. “Corrin.” 

“Kamui,” Corrin breathed. “It’s…it’s been a while.” 

“This is despicable,” Kamui spat. “You attack during a crowded event? You claim to be merciful, but do you know how many people must have been hurt in the panic alone? And gods, you were going to kill Father right in front of Elise…what kind of man are you?” 

“A man who wishes for peace,” Corrin responded as he lowered his arms. “My only goal here is to—” 

Kamui did not let Corrin finish. She took two large strides forward before kicking off of the railing and soaring through the air towards Corrin. She managed to wrap her legs around his waist and once her weight was fully on him, he fell like a rock. 

As they fell towards the water, Kamui managed to shakily sheathe the Yato. It was like she was trying to thread the head of a needle while riding a pegasus, but she managed to succeed with little effort. She raised her fist in the air and brought it down once on Corrin’s face, immediately drawing blood from his mouth. 

At the last second, Corrin managed to throw his Yato onto the stage right before he plummeted into the water. Now that they were submerged, the young prince could better fight with his sister. She wrapped her hands around his neck and squeezed, but was flipped over and shoved off. Bubbles of air came from her mouth as she emptied her lungs, then grabbing her dragonstone and becoming engulfed in its glowing green light. 

Kamui surfaced from the water and roared, sending Corrin flying through the air as she flicked her neck. He had been holding onto her horns, but was not strong enough to maintain his grip. He landed with a dull _ thud _ and breathed heavily, struggling to regain his breath. Next to him, a large man landed and splattered across the stage, blood pooling under the corpse. His throat was slit. Corrin looked up and saw Kaze up in the catwalk fighting a group of oncoming Nohrian soldiers that were donning the standard uniform. Of course. Of course Nohrian troops were stationed here. Why would the king travel without ample protection? 

In addition to the Nohrian troops, Kamui’s own soldiers were also apparently present. Corrin caught a glimpse of Hana crossing swords with a woman with pink and blue hair as well as Hinata rushing towards an archer crouching in the corner. Turning his attention back to his sister, Corrin’s eyes widened as he saw her back in her human form, stomping towards him with her arms fully ablaze. 

“I promise you, Corrin, your betrayal will _ not _ go unpunished,” she said as she encroached on her brother, who slowly rose to his feet. “I’m going to bring you back to Nohr and you’ll be reprimanded justly. And if that doesn’t happen…I’ll kill you myself.” 

The Nohrian princess swung her arm upward and a crescent of flames shot towards Corrin, threatening to burn him right then and there. Luckily for him, water from the pool surrounding them rose into the air and rushed right in front of him, forming a wall on which the fiery crescent fizzled out upon when it made contact. 

Fully standing up and looking to his right, Corrin saw that Azura had joined him, Zola’s illusion now dispelled. She held her lance in one hand and held the other to the side. When she lowered it, the water fell onto the velvet carpet. 

“Nice trick,” Kamui said through gritted teeth. “I promise you that I’ve got a few of my own, though.” 

Swinging her arms frantically, Kamui sent attack after attack at the two. Aqua blocked as much as she could with the water from the pool, but several shots got by her and crashed into the wall. Corrin once again spread his wings and took to the air, flying only a short distance behind Kamui to retrieve his sword. Kamui spun around with her arms extended, sending flames at both Corrin and Azura before the fire on her arms burned out. 

“Damn it,” she muttered as she stood up straight. She balled her fist and then extended her fingers, revealing them to be encased in sharp claws of ice. Azura approached her from behind and she quickly pivoted on her heel, deflecting the attack with a slash of her own. 

While Azura recovered, Kamui turned around once more and slashed down at Corrin, who had been preparing for an attack from behind. She caught him on the cheek and drew blood, three red slashes appearing on his face. 

Clenching her fists again, the ice on Kamui’s fingers extended down across the back of her hands and a little past her wrists, giving her makeshift gauntlets. She punched high and landed a hit directly onto Corrin’s nose before spinning around to backhand Azura and knock her to the ground.

“Looks like Leo’s done his job,” Corrin said as he wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. 

“Wrong. This is all me.” 

Corrin scoffed and shook his head. “So you’re still as independent as ever, I see. Never relying on anyone but yourself…I’m not like you, Sister. I never was.” 

Kamui felt cold steel press against her neck and she froze, the ice on her fists shattering. “Don’t move a muscle,” Kagero said, grabbing Kamui’s arm and twisting it behind her back. The princess winced, forcing herself not to lurch forward. 

“Ninja…of course. They’re cowards, always waiting in the shadows to strike. Too weak to fight head on.” Kamui grit her teeth, staring Corrin down. “Good to know that this is the company you keep, _ Brother _,” she said with poison in her voice. 

Corrin ignored her, instead opting to help Azura to her feet. “Thank you, Kagero. I knew that I could count on you.” 

The prince blessed his foresight. While they were planning the attack, Corrin had told Kagero that if anyone were to get the upper hand on him, she was to appear behind them and hold her dagger to their throat. Due to ninjas’ ability to practically teleport short distances, she was able to make it from the catwalk to the stage in an instant.

“Azura,” Kamui started with a smirk. “I haven’t seen you since I left Hoshido. Tell me, how’s Corrin been treating you? Is he a fine leader?” 

“He’s great,” Azura responded with a hint of aggression in her tone. “Kamui, what you did at the border was a mistake. All you have succeeded in doing is prolonging the war even further and supporting a corrupt king. What say you to that?” 

For a moment, Kamui’s smug smirk faltered. No…no, she couldn’t let Azura get to her. She was the enemy. _ Corrin _was the enemy. 

“I say that I chose to fight with my family. They raised me and have been there for me for…as long as I can remember. I refused to be a traitor like you.” 

Corrin balled his fist and took a deep breath through his nose. If siding with Hoshido made him a traitor, then so be it. He would rather be considered a traitor than fight in the name of an unjust cause. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Kagero suddenly cried out in agonizing pain and fell to the ground, clutching her neck. From between her fingers, Corrin could see a long, thin metal rod. With his eyes wide and breath shaking, he spotted a single silver haired archer in the distance with a sly smile on his face, Hinata’s unconscious body lying on the ground next to him. 

“KAGE—” Corrin’s shout was interrupted by his sister’s foot slamming into his jaw—she was always good at kicking high. He twisted in the air and landed on his side before sliding across the floor. 

The sounds of Kagero choking on her own blood and gasping for air drove Corrin to recover immediately, springing to his feet in an instant. “Azura, get her to Sakura! Now!” 

“Right!” Azura helped Kagero to her feet as tears filled the ninja’s eyes. She walked as fast as she could while hunched over and followed Azura’s lead, stepping onto the water. Both women stood on the liquid surface while Azura controlled it to allow them to ride a wave to the dinghy that Sakura was currently on, tending to an injury that Hinoka had sustained. 

Panting, Kamui pointed a finger towards Azura and Kagero. “Has she been able to do that since before we met her? Or is that a new development?” 

“It’s the first time I’m seeing it.” Corrin kept his eyes trained on his sister’s hand while she drew her weapon from its sheath. “We’re doing this, huh? Just the two of us?” 

Kamui nodded, squinting her eyes and pointing her Yato at Corrin. “You had better hope that all that sparring when we were younger has taught you something. If not, then may the gods have mercy on your soul.” 

And thus, the duel began. Corrin took the initiative by spreading his wings and giving one powerful flap, kicking into the air and flying towards his sister. Kamui blocked his diagonal slash with the flat end of her blade and he flipped onto the ground, swinging his blade low as he knelt into a crouch. She jumped back and formed her arm into a lance, stabbing at the spot where Corrin would be had he not spread his wings once again and used them to propel himself back. In response, Kamui engulfed her hand in flame and lobbed a ball of flames towards him. Corrin wrapped his wings around his body to protect himself, the flames disappearing into the air upon hitting the hard scales. 

Corrin thought that for using his wings combatively for the first time, he was doing quite well. He had taken around an hour earlier that day to have Azura coach him in quickly shifting between having them out and pulling them back in as well as using them to glide. He crashed into the grass a few times after jumping off the top of a tall tree, but eventually he was able to keep himself in the air. He found it more difficult to get himself in the air from a standing position, though soon came to discover that it was easier if he kicked into the air and started flapping his wings then. 

As for Kamui, she had been experimenting with new ways to use the channeled elemental tomes that she was studying. These tomes allowed her to harness an element and use it however she desired for a short period of time, whether it be fire, ice, or lightning. According to Camilla—who dabbled in the arcane—Kamui had quite a knack for freeform spellcasting. After reading these specific tomes for so long and so intently, she no longer needed to even have them on her person in order to use them.

Corrin took several fast, long strides to quickly close the distance between him and his opponent, but Kamui had been anticipating this. With all of her strength, she slammed the Yato’s blade into Corrin’s armor and knocked him to the side. The weapon’s edge left a deep cut in the metal, but the blade remained as sharp as ever. Corrin recovered quickly, spinning on his hands before coming back down onto his feet. 

“All that flair will be the death of you!” Kamui shouted before bringing down her Yato. Corrin knew that he couldn’t block it—Kamui was far too strong for that. Instead, he quickly grabbed his dragonstone and transformed as fast as he could. Instead of cutting straight down the middle of Corrin’s skull, her blade harmlessly slid down the side of his long, scaled neck. 

With a roar, Corrin whipped his tail before him and hit Kamui directly in the chest, sending her flying back and sliding across the carpet. She rolled back into a crouching stance, running forward before jumping in the air and taking hold of her own dragonstone, emerging as a fully formed draconic beast. 

There were several noticeable differences between the twins’ draconian states. The most immediately apparent difference was that Corrin’s wings were much larger and had a blue underside, whereas Kamui’s were a pure white. Kamui’s horns were longer and more twisted while Corrin’s were much simpler. Lastly, the shade of blue on Kamui’s underbelly, neck, and the top of her head was several shades lighter than Corrin’s, being more akin to the blue of Peri’s hair than the blue of her cape. 

Kamui raked her claws across her brother’s neck and made him cry out in pain. Even through the throbbing sensation spreading throughout that part of his body, Corrin slammed his neck into Kamui’s own and threw her off balance. Using this to his advantage, he jabbed forward with his horns extended, stabbing at the somewhat smaller monster before him. 

Kamui used her own horns in defense and they clashed, becoming entangled as both combatants pushed as hard as they could. She was reminded of the pictures of male deer fighting in the old animal encyclopedias she used to look through, using their antlers to establish dominance. 

In the midst of their struggle, Kamui stumbled forward as she suddenly found herself pushing against nothing. Looking up, she saw Corrin falling in the air—with his sword in hand no less—and onto her neck. She took note of the fact that he transformed while holding the Yato and changed back with it still in hand. 

Corrin raised his Yato in the air and tightly squeezed his thighs around Kamui’s neck to keep himself from getting thrown off, preparing to stab down. Just as he had done to her to avoid an attack, she changed forms at the last second. Corrin sprouted his wings and glided down to the ground where Kamui was standing, an angered look on her face. She was breathing heavily, as was he. 

“You should make good use of the advantage you have with those wings of yours,” Kamui said, slowly starting to walk to her right while Corrin began to inch to the left. “You know you won’t be able to best me on the ground.”

Corrin scoffed. “So that you have a bigger target to hit when I fly by? I’ll pass, thanks.” 

“Maybe you’ll be easier to hit, sure, but you’d have the altitude advantage as well as the agility advantage. I’m only trying to help you become a better fighter, Corrin.” Kamui looked past Corrin as they moved in a circle and scanned the area, picking out the faces she recognized. “...I see Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura. Tell me, where is Ryoma?”

Suddenly, Corrin found the tension leaving his body. They were in the middle of a battlefield and pointing their swords at each other, and yet he could swear that for a moment, Kamui seemed…vulnerable. But he couldn’t falter, not now. 

“You’re the enemy. I have no reason to tell you that.” 

Kamui felt a tinge of pain in her heart and winced. “While that may be true, I…I have a right to know where my—” 

“Your what?” Corrin spat. “Your brother? Please. Don’t tell me that’s the kind of tactic you’re resorting to.” He tensed his muscles once more and straightened out his arm, taking a step forward towards her. “I know you, Kamui, and you know me. What, did you think I’d lower my guard if you started getting sentimental? I’m not that stupid.” 

With her eyes thinned, Kamui’s legs moved her forward on their own. In truth, that wasn’t her plan at all. She genuinely wished to know the whereabouts of Hoshido’s high prince. Any general would want to know where their enemy was at any given time, but she couldn’t help but wonder if that was the reason why she’d asked. 

“No, you’re not.” Kamui sighed and closed her eyes, hanging her head low. Corrin was surprised; she’d taken her eyes off of her opponent in a fight. In fact, her guard seemed to be completely down. He could easily sprout his wings and close the distance between them in only one or two seconds and could maybe even land a fatal blow. What kind of game was she playing here? 

“Corrin,” she began, lowering her sword arm. “You have to realize that I don’t hate you. What you did at the border was…unforgivable. You betrayed your country as well as your family for strangers who barely knew you, and that can’t go unpunished.” She looked up with sad eyes, gritting her teeth as she stared at him. Her knuckles went white from the tight grip on her sword’s hilt. “But you’re still my brother. I _ promise _ that if you just surrender peacefully and come home with us, Xander, Leo, Elise, Camilla and I will do everything in our power to give you the lightest punishment possible. If Father wants to kill you himself, then…well, I suppose we’ll just have to fight him.” 

The young prince stared at his sister with wide eyes. This…this had to have been a trick. Nohr’s way of war was all centered around complete and utter conquest as well as unconditional surrender. They employed underhanded tactics to gain the advantage—just as they had done with Sumeragi on the day the twins were stolen—and showed no remorse for it. Kamui was more than likely just emulating her Nohrian upbringing. 

And yet, she seemed genuine. Corrin took a moment to wonder if the siblings he had grown up with over the years would truly let him be killed. Surely they wouldn’t; Elise would rather die than have the same happen to any of her siblings. Camilla adored him far too much. Leo, while often cold, could be quite compassionate when it came to his family. And Xander…he was always willing to do what had to be done, but Corrin figured that he cared more about his little brother than his duty to his country.

“Even if you were telling the truth, I’m not the only one I care about,” Corrin responded. “Sakura, Takumi, Hinoka, Ryoma, everyone. They’d likely all be executed. If you think I’d let that happen, then you don’t—”

“I’ll do what I can. Corrin, I just want this to be over.” Kamui’s voice wavered and she raised her sword arm before slipping the Yato into its sheath. “Come now. You said you’re not stupid, so prove it. Do you truly believe that Hoshido could possibly stand up to the forces of Nohr? We’re a militaristic country; Hoshido is all about art and agriculture.”

“I don’t care!” Corrin shouted, his voice overtaking the shouting and sounds of metal clashing against metal. Battlefields were loud, but the young dragons’ sensitive ears allowed them to focus on each other’s voices. Kamui winced upon hearing Corrin’s shouting, much to her surprise. Her Corrin had actually managed to startle her. “I refuse to give in just because the odds aren’t in my favor! Look around you, Kamui! These are _ my _ soldiers, _ my _friends. I have faith in them.” 

Kamui felt her heart sink. All she had wanted was to end this peacefully and to help Corrin and his friends. This could just be a rebellious phase he had that they could look back on and laugh about when they were old, but here he was being difficult. With a grim expression, she placed her hand back on the Yato’s hilt. 

“So be it, then.” 

Before she could draw her sword once again, Kamui was abruptly slammed into and knocked to the ground by something incredibly hard. She had the wind knocked out of her and her face was burned by sliding across the carpet. With an angered expression, she sat up only to see the same pair of candy colored pigtails that she had grown to know. 

“PERI!” 

“Sorry, sorry!” Peri apologized profusely, stumbling to her feet and pulling Kamui up. “She came out of nowhere!” 

Looking past Peri, Kamui saw the same woman who had a dagger to her throat minutes before now wielding a long katana. She was apparently quite angered over receiving an arrow in her neck, as her face was now one of fury and rage. 

“Kagero, you—”

“Behind you!” Kagero warned. Corrin whipped his head around and just barely avoided a spear through his chest, leaning back and allowing it to go right over him. He placed his hands on the floor and flipped back, coming face to face with his assailant. His breath left his body when he recognized just who had attacked him. 

“Si…Silas.” 

The knight’s expression was a mix of determination and sadness. He was without a doubt intent on impaling the boy just then, but he did not look happy about it. “I’m sorry, old friend. I wish we didn’t have to reunite like this.” 

Corrin remembered that Silas had been forced into knighthood for taking Corrin and Kamui away from the castle, but for him to end up under Kamui’s direct command was not something that he anticipated even slightly. He also did not anticipate a dagger whizzing past his face and towards Kamui, only to be deflected by the girl called Peri and her sword. 

Kamui’s expression darkened further as she saw the pink haired woman emerge from behind Silas. 

“Oh, I should have attacked this guy, shouldn’t have I? I’m sorry, Corrin!” 

Of course. Of course Felicia ran off to join Corrin in his efforts against Nohr. She never did display much loyalty to Garon, but was always extremely attached to Corrin. Kamui cursed herself for not coming to that conclusion sooner. 

Silas jumped forward and rolled over to Peri and Kamui’s side while Kagero vanished in a puff of smoke, appearing next to Corrin and Felicia. “Felicia!” Silas exclaimed. “Oh no, not you, too…”

“Silas!” The maid gasped her eyes wide. “Wh-what are you doing here? Last I heard, you were banished!” 

“He became a knight,” Kamui told her through grit teeth, “and now he’s fighting for his country, unlike the both of you.” 

“Yeah! You guys are traitors!” Peri raised her sword in the air, eager to return to combat. “Treason! Treason!” 

“It is better to fight for what you believe in rather than what your homeland does,” Kagero added. “I have sworn loyalty to my liege and would follow him to the ends of the Earth, but if his heart were to darken and corrupted…well. It would be untrue to myself to not at the very least speak up.” 

Groaning, Kamui drew her Yato and extended her arm, Peri and Silas following suit and aiming their weapons as well. “Enough talk! Corrin, if you won’t surrender, then I’ll defeat you myself!” 

And thus, the brawl began once more. Silas wasn’t used to fighting without Agro, but it wasn’t as if they were permitted to bring their mounts into the opera house. Peri was a little more used to combat without Kamui—the horse—but still was out of practice. Even so, she relentlessly swung her sword in practically every direction, threatening to lob off the head of anyone who dared come near. 

Felicia thanked the gods for her natural agility. If her reaction time had been any slower, she would have been cut into pieces. Bobbing and weaving to avoid every one of Peri’s attacks, Felicia drew a dagger from her waistband and forced it into a chink in her opponent’s armor. It didn’t make contact with her body, however, for Peri suddenly jerked to the side before Felicia could get it fully into the opening. Now with the advantage, Peri quickly slammed her armored hip into Felicia’s face and knocked the clumsy maid to the ground. 

Kagero wasn’t having much more luck in her battle. With her sword against Silas’s lance, she found that he was having a difficult time closing the distance. Silas fought with his teeth grit the entire time, jabbing and twisting the spear whenever he needed to. He could block Kagero’s slashes with the pole, but just could not land an attack on his own. He could not just play defense, however. He needed to attack. Kagero brought her sword down vertically and the attack was blocked by Silas holding his lance sideways with both hands. He ducked forward to quickly get directly in front of Kagero, sparks flying as her sword’s blade scraped across the pole of his spear. In under a second, Silas swiftly brought the spear down below Kagero’s chin and forced it upward, essentially uppercutting her and making her fall on her back. 

Kagero ignored the metallic taste of blood in her mouth and rolled to the side to avoid Silas’ stab into the ground. The pointed weapon dug into the carpet and when Silas attempted to withdraw it, he found that it had become stuck in the floor. He knew that since Kagero was incredibly fast, he had to abandon the spear and find a new weapon, but he was too slow. The instant he loosed his grip from the spear, the end of Kagero’s sword pierced right through the metal protecting his hand and came out the other end. 

Kamui’s attention usually would have faltered upon her hearing Silas’ cry of pain, but she was far too focused to let that happen now. As for Corrin, he briefly wondered if the Yato blades were ever meant to be used against each other, but he couldn’t think about that now. All he could do was take everything he had learned into consideration as he fought the girl with whom he had spent his entire life up until now. 

He watched her feet, her waist, and her arms. Those were the parts of the body that mattered most right now. Seeing that one of her feet was suddenly on its toes, Corrin anticipated that she was about to spin around. Sure enough, he managed to block her deadly pirouette by holding out the flat end of his Yato, each slashes harmlessly dragging off. Kamui wasted no time between attacks, however, and used the momentum she had to her advantage. With one hand still holding her sword, she balled her fist and punched right past Corrin’s own weapon, landing a direct blow to his nose once again. 

Corrin fell on his rear end and shook his head to dispels the black spots from his vision, only to be met with the giant maw that Kamui’s arm had taken the form of and the large blue orb of water forming within it. He managed to roll out of the way and spring to his feet before he could be hit and caught a glimpse of his sister’s arm returning to normal. 

At this point, both siblings were exhausted. The water that had soaked into the inner fabric of their armor had slowed them down and made their flesh raw. They had been fighting for so long and they were both starting to show it. Their movements were slower, their posture more sloppy, and their attacks less coordinated. 

Felicia was down, having been knocked unconscious, and Silas was pinned to the ground by a sword through his hand. Taking a quick look around the battlefield, Kamui’s expression darkened. It appeared that losing Elise was extremely detrimental. The swordsman who Niles had previously knocked out had recovered and with the assistance of a shorter swordswoman had taken him down. He wasn’t dead, but was taking cover in the shadows of the tunnel as his arm bled severely. 

Niles wasn’t the only one hurting. Laslow had been slammed into a wall by a powerful wind spell and could barely walk, having hit his head. Effie and Arthur had been bested by the oldest Hoshidan princess herself. This was not looking good for Nohr, not at all, though in spite of that…

“Keep pushing forward!” Kamui shouted, forcing herself to stand up straight and raising her sword high in the air. “Everyone, we must—”

“That’s enough!” 

With her eyes wide, Kamui turned her head to the direction in which she heard the deep, booming voice. Standing in the front row of the seats were Garon, Hans, Iago, and Camilla. 

“Father!?” 

“Garon!” 

Immediately, Corrin sprouted wings and began to run forward, fully prepared to strike down Garon right then and there. Before he could kick off of the ground, the entire room flashed white and a bolt of lightning pierced his body, leaving a scorching black mark on the carpet below. With only the whites of his eyes visible, Corrin stood paralyzed for a few moments before crumbling to the ground, absolutely still. Iago smirked as he slowly put his hand back under his cloak. 

“It’s clear as day that you’ve lost here, little one. Come now, listen to your father and retreat.” 

Kamui blinked several times, confused. “B-but you’ve just taken out their leader! They’ll fall apart now! Since when has Nohr ever surrendered?!” 

“Surrender would imply that they win the war,” Hans pointed out. “We’re just making a tactical retreat. Come on.” 

Before Kamui could argue further, she found herself standing at Camilla’s side. Her sister pulled her into a hug at once, smothering the smaller girl in her bosom. One by one, her comrades were bathed in light and transported up into the audience seats, leaving the Hoshidan soldiers down on the stage and the boats. 

Kamui opened her mouth, but no words would come. In the presence of her father, she felt…small. Her battle with her brother had been cut short and there was nothing she could do about it. He was even defeated by someone other than her. 

“Why not take Corrin, too?” Camilla asked, concerned. “With all he’s done, don’t you think it would be appropriate to—” 

Camilla was silenced as Hans’ large hand came down on her face. All at once, Camilla screamed, Kamui gasped, and the sound of the large man’s palm slapping against Camilla’s delicate cheek seemed to overwhelm all other noise. Kamui’s instincts told her to lunge at him and rip him to shreds, but she knew she had to show restraint. Instead, she quietly helped her sister back to her feet and tightly clenched her fist, her nails digging into her flesh. 

“Watch your tone, girl!” Hans demanded. “Or are you questioning the authority of the king?” 

Touching her fingertips to her reddened face, the princess winced at the stinging sensation. Camilla was not weak. Under normal circumstances, she would have fed anyone who dared strike her or any of her beloved siblings to her wyvern, but these were not normal circumstances. Garon didn’t even flinch when his eldest daughter was struck by a much larger man. Clearly he approved of this. 

“No…” she mumbled, her eyes focusing on her boots. She refused to give him the respect of looking him in the eyes. 

“Excellent! Now.” Iago turned his attention to the dark tunnel leading backstage and sighed, shaking his head. “Come out now, Zola. You didn’t think you could hide there forever, did you?” 

The crooked man froze upon hearing his name, but forced himself to step out of the darkness and stand where they could see him. Kamui squinted as she tried to recognize the man. Focusing on the name, she eventually came to remember that he was the current archmage of Nohr. She had only had minor interactions with him when she was younger, but remembered him as being quite unpleasant. 

“G-Grandmaster Iago! King Garon! Oh, you have no idea how overjoyed I am to see you!” Zola scurried over to the edge of the stage like a roach who had just had a light shined on it. “These Hoshidans kidnapped me and have been forcing me to work my magic for them! But now that you’re here, I’m finally free!” 

Hoshido’s oldest princess balled her fist, grit her teeth, and lunged forward while shouting. Kaze and Saizo took hold of her arms to prevent her from advancing. “Aaaagh! Zola, you coward! You absolutely wretched man! What happened to wanting to end the war?!” 

Zola winced at Hinoka’s insults, but kept his gaze locked on his Nohrian allies. He couldn’t look back, for that would show weakness. “See how short tempered this one is? They’re savages, absolute savages! Come now, warp me up there with you all so that I can finally be rid of them!” 

When he was not met with a response of any sort, Zola’s expression darkened and he clasped his hands together. “I…I also ask of you to be merciful to these people, however. While they may be savages, they are only doing what has been demanded of them by _ your _son, King Garon. Should they really be punished just for carrying out orders?” 

The king stared at his archmage for a while, his dark eyes intently focused and his expression unchanging. Finally, his face turned to a scowl and he began looking at Zola with disgust. 

“You let yourself be taken hostage by the enemy and chose to _ help _them instead of be killed with your honor still intact. You, Zola, are weak. You will not be missed.” 

For only a moment, Zola’s face was one of despair. He began to turn his head to take one final look at the Hoshidans with whom he had been travelling with, but that action was cut abruptly short as a colossal pillar of fire erupted around him. 

Sakura cried out and burst into tears, having to be held by Subaki, who covered her ears with his palms. Zola let loose screams of agony, the flames latching onto his body and refusing to let go. Slowly, his flesh was scorched and his eyes began to melt from his skull, but no one could see this behind the wall of fire. When the screaming finally came to an end, the pillar vanished and left behind a burnt corpse, small flames lingering on the blackened clothing. 

Iago smirked as he lowered his hand. “Come along then! We’ve no time to waste ridding ourselves of these Hoshidans’ presence!” He turned around with a flourish of his cloak and began to walk towards the exit, Garon and Hans following behind him.

The sisters exchanged worried looks and Kamui felt bile rising. The sight of Garon himself—the king of the most powerful country on the continent—walking behind a lowly worm like Iago made her sick to her stomach. On top of that, she had just witnessed a man be burned alive. With disconcerted faces, the soldiers of Nohr reluctantly moved on, leaving the Hoshidans down on the stage. 

A few of them looked like they were planning on pursuing the Nohrians, but after seeing what happened to Corrin, no one truly wanted to attempt it. Hinoka recognized the man who had struck her brother with lightning as Iago, the same man who had disguised the Wind Tribe warriors as Faceless. She felt her blood boil and nearly chucked her lance directly into his back, but she knew that trying to do so would only end up hurting her and her companions. 

“He wasn’t hurt badly, just knocked unconscious,” Sakura explained to Azura minutes later. The songstress was down on her knees, resting Corrin’s head on her lap. “It shouldn’t be long before he wakes up.”

“He’s the only one that can open the passage to the Astral Plane, so we’ll just have to wait for that to happen.” Azura ran her fingers through Corrin’s stark white hair, a small smile on his face. “He looks so peaceful when he’s sleeping…you’re a lucky woman, Setsuna.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

Kagero took a step forward with her brow furrowed. “You are…awfully relaxed considering what just happened. We failed in our mission.” 

“They retreated, did they not? I’d count that as a victory in our book. How’s your neck?” 

“It’s fine,” Kagero quickly responded as she placed her hand over where she had been shot. Admittedly, it still hurt a little, but she was not going to tell anyone that. “Our goal was to assassinate King Garon, which we were not successful in doing. If only Corrin’s sister had not been there…”

Azura simply shrugged, putting her hand on Corrin’s forehead. “It’s unfortunate, but there’s no use dwelling on the past. If anything, we should have predicted that she would be there. She _ is _quite the skilled fighter. The way she used her magic, the way she managed her blade, it was impressive. Surely you have to respect her for that at the very least.” 

“What she _ is _ is the enemy,” Takumi firmly put. “If it weren’t for her, we could have killed Garon and the war would come to an end not long after.” The young man grit his teeth, balling his fists. “Gods, she didn’t even pay attention to any of us. All she was worried about was her stupid brother.” 

Oboro nodded in agreement, crossing her arms and scowling. “Of course. She obviously doesn’t care about you, Sakura, Hinoka _ or _Ryoma. If she did, she wouldn’t have chosen to side with those stupid Nohrians. Did you see the way she left? She didn’t even look back!” 

“Well, perhaps she was more attached to her other family than us,” Azura suggested. When she was met with inquisitive gazes, she shook her head and continued. “Think about it. Corrin claims to have sided with Hoshido because he feels that King Garon is corrupt and unjust. He was stolen as a baby, so it’s only logical that he’d want to connect with his birth family, yes?”

“Yes, that seems right,” Kagero responded.

“However, think about it from Kamui’s perspective. She’s abducted and taken to a country she’s been raised to hate and then told that a group of strangers are her _ real _family. In the end, she chose to remain with those with whom she already had a deep connection, regardless of their relation by blood.” Azura put a finger on her chin, looking up at the ceiling. “I think…that Kamui is more concerned with family than morals and that Corrin simply wants to take down a corrupt leader on top of feeling betrayed by those he called his siblings. Does anyone have any other thoughts?” 

No one said anything. For several moments, the only sounds that could be heard were those of uncomfortable shuffling and sniffles. Kaden was the one who broke the silence. 

“Wow, Azura! You’re pretty perceptive!” he said. He approached the group in the shape of a white fox with a red scruff, nine long tails tipped in the same shade of red sprouting from his backside. His muzzle’s fur was stained with blood. In a flash of light, he returned to the form in which he initially met them all, clothes and all. However, blood remained around his mouth and he promptly wiped most of it away with his sleeve. “I don’t really know what’s going on, but you don’t know that lady that looks like Corrin very well, do you? The fact that you’re able to just say all that is amazing!” 

With a slight blush, Azura waved the comment off. “You flatter me. It’s just a guess. We can ask Corrin once he awakens if we’re truly that curious.” 

Having already known the specific reasons for Corrin’s decisions, Kagero hid her face in her scarf. She could have spoken up, but she did not feel that it was her place to reveal Corrin’s motivations. 

Huffing, Takumi sat down next to Corrin angrily and reached out to shake him awake. His hand was slapped away by Azura’s own and she gave him a disapproving look. “You see what just happened, yes? He just saw his twin sister for the first time in weeks and had to fight her. Let him wake peacefully.” 

Takumi threw his arms up in frustration and Oboro patted his shoulder to comfort him. Kaden placed his fists on his hips and stood proudly. “Well then! You all helped me to help a friend, so I guess I owe you a favor now! I’ll tell you what. You guys are all humans with fragile bodies—though I think I saw Corrin here turn into a dragon? Anyway, what you need is some kitsune muscle behind your forces! How do you feel about me fighting with you guys until the war’s done, huh?” 

“We would have to ask Corrin about it, though I’m certain that he’d say yes. You were quite formidable on the battlefield, Kaden. You would be a wonderful addition to our army,” Azura answered. 

“What? Since when were you second in command?” Takumi asked. He would have continued had it not been for Hinoka putting her hand on his head. 

“Easy there, Takumi. We need all the help we can get,” she said. “In fact, having someone like Kaden with us would be pretty good in a fight. Kitsune are quick, strong, and hardy.” 

“And shiny! Did you _ see _my fur?” Kaden added. 

Hinoka continued. “Remember, we’re not the _ only _ones fighting this war. Thousands of Hoshidan soldiers are working hard out there, fighting their own battles. We’re just our own little squadron here. The bigger we get, the better chance we have at winning battles.” 

“There’s been an awful lot of combat when our only goal this whole time has been to reunite with Ryoma. The wind tribe, the Mokushans, the person on the boat—we still don’t even know who or what that was!” Takumi shouted. He grew increasingly frustrated as he continued to speak, ranting along. “Why’d we even come here? We were just supposed to arrive in Cyrkensia and continue on marching to Cheve, but _ no _, we just HAD to go out of our way and risk our lives for some girl we’ve never even met!” 

“I assure you Corrin did not just agree to help out of the kindness of his heart, but also the opportunity to potentially kill King Garon. We failed in that endeavor, and there’s no changing that, but it’s fine. War is a series of wins and losses, Takumi.” 

The young man scoffed. “Losses, right. Losses like Mother.” 

Hinoka grabbed Takumi’s ear and roughly pulled him back, causing him to repeat “Ow! Ow!”. She looked down at him with an angry expression. 

“Watch it, Takumi. You’re seventeen years old, it’s time to grow up. I understand how you feel, but you shouldn’t say things like that.” 

He wanted to retort, but he knew that he’d just be scolded forward. Instead, he chose to change the topic by looking over to Zola’s dead body and gesturing to it. 

“What are we going to do about that?” 

* * *

Hinoka and Takumi were against it, but Azura and Sakura insisted that Zola be given a proper burial. Because of this, Lilith buried his body near a bush currently in bloom and gave him a simple headstone marked only with his name. 

The mood in the Astral Plane that night was mixed. People like Hinata and Hana were happy to have won a battle while Sakura and Subaki silently mourned Zola’s death. Hinoka seemed more annoyed than anything as she showed Kaden around and tried to get him to stop sniffing her hair. 

As for Kagero, she stood outside of Corrin’s tree house with a look of concern. The pain in her neck had not subsided, but she was more concerned with how her commander was feeling. When he woke up, he was…furious. He was angrier than she thought he could ever get. She could tell that he was holding it in by the look on his face and the aggression in his words, so she was worried.

She stared down at the sigil at the base of the tree. Only Corrin, Sakura, Takumi, Hinoka, and Azura could use it, so there were a few complaints when people wanted to speak directly to Corrin and did not want to have to go through one of his siblings first. As such, Lilith had recently modified the system so that when someone was standing on it, it would glow slightly. This was the reason why Kagero squinted in confusion when she saw the sigil start to shine. Perhaps Corrin was coming down to talk to someone? 

The kunoichi was surprised when instead of Corrin, she was met with Setsuna. She held her head low and she was hugging herself, her face hidden by her hair. “Setsuna?” Kagero began. “What seems to be the matter?” 

Setsuna stepped off of the sigil and the glow died, leaving both women illuminated only by the moonlight. She began to tremble and bit her lip. “Y-you don’t think I’m stupid, do you?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“Of course not,” Kagero replied immediately. “Did someone say that to you?” 

The archer shook her head. “No…he said I didn’t understand. He said I _ couldn’t _understand. I’m s-sorry that I’m not that good with communicating, but I try at least. Isn’t that enough?” 

Setsuna began to wipe the heavy tears from her eyes with her palms and she broke into a sob. Devastated, Kagero stepped forward and pulled the girl into a hug. 

“Of course it’s enough. Corrin said those things?” 

Sniffling, Setsuna nodded into Kagero’s shoulder. “I’ve never s-seen him yell like that before. He was so…upset about everything.” 

At this point, Kagero was angry with Corrin. How could he yell at a girl as innocent as Setsuna like that? In her mind, he had failed as both a leader and as a romantic partner. This was exactly why she disapproved of relationships between subordinates and their superiors. 

“I will talk to him,” Kagero assured Setsuna, stepping back and putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. “You can sleep in my house for tonight. Rest well, alright?” 

Setsuna nodded, thanking Kagero before turning away and sadly walking away towards Kagero’s residence. Kagero herself promptly stood on top of the sigil and watched it glow, waiting for her to be warped into the house. It happened sooner than she expected, with her being teleported away within five or so seconds. 

“Setsuna, I—” Corrin reached out to touch her as she appeared in the center of the room, but froze and pulled his hand back when he realized that it was not who he expected. His expression darkened and he looked away. “Oh, Kagero. It’s just you. I’m sorry, I was—”

“What exactly did you say to her?” Kagero demanded, giving her commander a stern look. He was somewhat surprised by her sudden question, but his surprised look quickly faded. 

The young man sighed and turned around, shuffling over to his desk before sitting down and putting his head in his hands. “I…I yelled at her. She didn’t understand, and for that, I yelled at her. It’s not her fault, so why did I react that way?” he asked himself. “I was going on and on about so many things and what she said in response just infuriated me. I called her daft, socially inept, an imbecile; Gods, what’s wrong with me?” 

Kagero frowned, Corrin staring despairingly into the mirror. She knew that she had not known him for very long, but she still never expected to see him this upset, nor did she ever expect him to raise his voice at anyone. He came off as a docile young man, one that was kind and gentle. 

“I see…well, what were these things?” she inquired, sitting down on Corrin’s bedside. “Say to me what you said to her.” 

Corrin put his forehead on the wooden desk and let out a large sale. “I said a lot of things…I was _ so close _, Kagero. I was so close to putting an end to all of this, but…I didn’t anticipate my sister to be there. What if I held back in my attacks because I didn’t want to hurt her? I could have just ignored her and kept pursuing Garon. Maybe if I hadn’t taken so long to recover in the air. Maybe if I hadn’t let her get me in the water. Maybe if I had just flown away and went after Garon. Gods!” He slammed his fist on the table, startling Kagero a little. “He was right there, damn it! And I let him get away!” 

Kagero did not respond immediately. Instead, she allowed Corrin to calm his nerves before continuing. “We may have, but think about the cost. We assisted a young girl in getting to see her mother one last time, but the time we spent fighting that battle could have been put towards going to Cheve. What if something happens to Ryoma or Scarlet and we aren’t there to protect them because we lost a day here? Gods, Takumi was right. On top of that, we lost a useful asset in Zola. And…” Corrin’s breathing steadied and he slowly raised his head, turning it to meet Kagero’s eyes. “Do you have any siblings, Kagero?” 

She nodded. “Yes, an older brother. I don’t get to talk to him much, but we were very close as children.” 

“Then I want you to imagine something. Imagine the look of horror in his eyes as he watches you attempt to kill your father after not seeing either of them for weeks.” Corrin grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, holding back tears. “Elise…she’s such a sweet girl, and I was going to murder her father right in front of her. What kind of brother am I?” 

Kagero nodded in understanding. She was reminded of the days when she was young and Orochi would come to her sobbing about a boy, and she would have to console her best friend over her heartbreak. They were teenagers then, but now, she was a grown woman having to comfort a grown man. 

“I can’t say that I fully understand,” Kagero began, “but you must feel awful. I am truly sorry that this is something that you have to do, but…you made your choice, Commander. When you decided to fight with us, you must have anticipated that you may have to do something like that, yes?” 

“I did. And I thought I was ready, but apparently I can’t stomach the thought of hurting them. My siblings…I love them all so much and it just kills me that I might have to end their lives one day.”

Truthfully, Kagero did not know what to say. She could empathize with his pain, but simply did not have any advice for the situation that he was in. “…Might I suggest something? What I wish for you to do is first apologize to Setsuna. I’m unsure if she will still want to be with you afterwards, but it’s important that you make amends. After that, you should talk to Azura about this. You two are close, right?” Corrin seemed to have to think for a moment before he nodded. “Good. She will be able to ease your mind better than I can.” 

Kagero stood and peered out the window briefly, seeing a few lights in her companions’ houses go down. “I should probably get to bed. You should, too. It’s important for you to rest.” 

Corrin unfastened his cape and lazily tossed it aside, giving Kagero a slow nod. “Right…thank you, Kagero. I appreciate your words.” 

With a smile, Kagero walked back over to the sigil on the ground and gave a wave. “Don’t mention it. I have to make sure that my leader is in a good mental state, after all.” 

“I suppose that is best. Well, good night.” 

“Good night, Corrin.” 

And with that, the room was filled with light and Kagero was gone, leaving the young leader alone once again.

* * *

**A/N:** And here it is, folks, the longest chapter in the adaptation thus far, beating out the third chapter by just under a thousand words. Funny how that one contained no action while this one is combat centered, isn't it? How did you like the twins seeing each other for the first time since the battle at the border? Remember, comments and kudos keep me going, and as always, have a good one. 


	14. Hollow Victory

“I should have drowned him.” 

Kamui leaned back against the large tree as she tugged at the grass, opening her hands and letting the gentle wind carry the torn blades off. Immediately the patch of dirt she had left was filled with brand new grass for her to pull out. The Astral Plane always seemed to have just the adequate amount of flora and regrew itself whenever it was removed, which was how they were able to keep the food supply so abundant. 

Her army was to march early in the morning along with a handful of Hans’ men, but she was not told the reason. The man insisted on keeping it a secret and Iago refused to let her ask her father, saying that he was tired and needed rest. She hated both of them with all of her being, but she knew that she could not invoke Garon’s wrath by defying them. 

At that moment, she was sitting on the grass with a few members of her army. Camilla sat next to her, running her fingers through Kamui’s long hair. Elise sat next to Camilla, leaning on her shoulder with a downtrodden expression. Opposite them were Laslow, Selena, and Silas, none of which seeming to be in the best of moods. No one did—except for Peri, of course. Laslow had once told Kamui that Peri could have all of her limbs cut off and would die laughing as she bled out because she would think that she looked funny. 

“Kamui…” Camilla sighed, slowly blinking. “You shouldn’t say things like that.” 

“Why not? He made an assassination attempt on the king. The punishment for that is immediate execution. If it weren’t for that wretched Iago, we would have had enough time to seize him.” 

Selena scoffed and moved one of her pigtails aside. “Oh please, don’t try and pretend like you wouldn’t do the same if it were Ryoma instead of Garon.” 

Kamui was taken aback, but recovered fast. “Of course I wouldn’t! That kind of attack is dishonorable. I know that samurai follow a strict code of honor, and while I may want to win the war, I don’t believe that I’m willing to break that. I’d have to face him in a one on one duel—a duel that I would surely win.” 

“Right, just like you won that duel with Corrin.” 

The princess squinted at Selena and leaned forward, baring her sharp fangs. “You certainly have a mouth on you, you know that? Gods…if only I hadn’t been so reckless with my fire magic at the beginning. I could have maybe lured him into a fireball or impaled him on ice. Or maybe I would have been able to freeze his leg and then use my sword to—”

“Stop it…” Elise mumbled.

“Hm?” Kamui sat up and turned her head to her little sister. “What was that, Elise?” 

“I said stop it!” Nohr’s youngest princess suddenly shot up, standing on two feet with her fists balled. Her cheeks were inflated and her face was a bright red from anger. “Stop talking about him like your only goal is to kill him! So what if he’s the enemy? He’s our brother! Don’t you remember that?!” 

Kamui sat dumbfounded as tears filled Elise’s eyes. She didn’t think she had ever seen her angry before. The young girl was usually so bubbly, and if she wasn’t bubbly, she was sad. Rage, however, was not an emotion that Kamui thought Elise was capable of. 

“Ever since we separated, you’ve talked about him like he’s just another Hoshidan for you to kill! It’s like you don’t even remember the years you spent with him! He’s your twin brother, Kamui, shouldn’t you be closer to him? You guys grew up practically isolated from the rest of the country, but…” Elise rubbed away the tears with the back of her hand, struggling to keep her voice steady. “You act like you never even knew him.” 

Kamui could feel five pairs of eyes judging her while she struggled to come up with a response. “Elise…he was going to murder Father right in front of us. Doesn’t that make you feel even a little contempt for him?”

“No!” Elise shouted. “Yes! I mean…” she knelt back down and leaned against Camilla once more. “He just wants the war to be over. Is that so wrong?” 

Before Kamui could respond and potentially upset Elise even more, Silas spoke up. “Look. We all have different feelings about…this situation, and that’s fine. What’s important is that we don’t let it divide us. We can’t start fighting over it.” 

“Yeah, it’s pretty stupid to argue so much over something like that,” Selena mumbled. “You guys already lost one member of your family, you don’t want to lose another over petty disagreements.” 

Laslow sighed and leaned back on his hands, his legs stretched out. He gave Selena a telling look and she did the same in return before averting her eyes. 

“She’s right, you know. Family is an important thing. It’s why you stayed with Nohr, isn’t it, Kamui?”

“Of course,” Kamui responded. “I could never betray those who have been with me for…for as long as I can remember.” 

“Right, right. You can’t remember anything from before you were six. I forget that sometimes,” Silas added. 

Camilla pursed her lips and moved her eyes away from Kamui’s when her sister turned her head to look at her. “Camilla, I’ve never asked anyone this, but…did something happen to Corrin and I that made us lose our memories? What were we like? How did you meet us?” 

The eldest princess placed her hand on Elise’s head and frowned, furrowing her brow. “Well…you two arrived when you were two, so I was four, Xander was five, and Leo had just been born. Admittedly, both Xander and I were apprehensive towards the idea of suddenly having three new children in our lives at first, especially since two of them weren’t related to us by blood. It didn’t help that we already barely talked to Azura, but we warmed up to you fast. Me quicker than Xander, of course. The two of you were just so cute!” 

Kamui blushed and smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. “So you’ve always been this way, it seems.” 

“Indeed I have. Oh, the way you two would run around the castle and bump into the legs of the maids…Xander used to joke since that you did that so frequently, it was as if you were trying to take a peek up their dress! It’s funny how that turned out, isn’t it?” 

Kamui stifled a laugh and covered her bright red face with her hands, the chuckles of Silas and Laslow threatening to push her over the edge and burst out into a laughing fit. To her knowledge, no one had told Camilla about her sapphic tendencies, but her older sister knew her so well and was perceptive enough that it came as no surprise that she came to the correct conclusion by herself.

“Now, you were both wonderful children, however…you tended to be quite rebellious. Not just you, but Corrin as well. You learned of your heritage quickly enough, mostly by listening to diplomatic officials and then asking Xander and I. The two of you were just so desperate to at the very least pay a visit to Hoshido and meet your _ real _family.” At this point, Camilla was frowning. Her lighthearted account of the twins’ early years had turned to a melancholic recollection instead. “Xander and I supported you in this for a while, but we were told to never speak of Hoshido to either of you and discourage your aspirations to leave Nohr. One day, you threw a tantrum about the whole thing when you heard Iago mention the anniversary of Sumeragi’s death, and…” 

Camilla’s words trailed off and she began to stroke Elise’s hair with sorrow filled eyes. Kamui blinked slowly, staring at her. “Camilla, what is it?” she asked.

Grimacing, Camilla began to hum to herself, rocking side to side.

“Sister, whatever it is, you can tell me,” Kamui said as she moved towards Camilla and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Are they making you uncomfortable? I can ask them to leave if you’d like.” 

“Gee, thanks…” Selena muttered with a roll of her eyes. 

Camilla blinked away tears and stared down at Elise’s bright blonde hair. “I’m so, _ so _sorry Kamui. We’re forbidden from telling you—from telling anyone, in fact, but I don’t want to keep it from you any longer.” 

Finally, Camilla locked eyes with Kamui, biting her bottom lip before breaking her silence. “Iago proposed to Father that he have your memories altered, and Father told him to simply erase them. We tried to stop him, we truly did, but Father told us that we’d be punished harshly if we pursued it further. When it was over…all you could remember was your name, some of the knowledge you had picked up, and that we were your family.” 

By this point, Elise had raised her head and was now looking at both her sisters with a crushed expression. Camilla’s face of intense guilt was contrasted with Kamui’s look of shock, then despair, and finally a simple sadness. 

“Kamui…” 

“S-So that’s what happened. That’s why we don’t remember those years.” Kamui’s hands weakly fell from Camilla’s shoulders and she felt a lump rising in her throat. “I see. Thank you for telling me that. I’m glad I know now.” 

“After that…well, you know what happens next. You’re sent to live with Gunter, Flora, Felicia and Jakob at the Northern Fortress, you’re given strict limits regarding leaving the fortress after you sneak out with Silas…yes. Yes, you know.” 

“Man,” Silas interjected. “So she and Corrin could have lived with you guys, huh? Maybe then she wouldn’t have developed into such an ice queen.” He said it as a jest, but recoiled when Kamui turned to look at him. She wasn’t angry or offended, but her expression showed that she was not in a joking mood. “S-sorry.” 

“That must feel awful, Kamui. I’m truly sorry that that happened to you,” Laslow said with sincerity in his voice. “I grew up in hard times as well, but I was surrounded by friends the whole way. I couldn’t imagine being practically alone for the whole thing. I’m not sure if I would have survived.” 

Kamui wanted to tell him that the company of Corrin and her retainers was enough, but truthfully, it wasn’t. She was never the most social child and practically shut everyone out when her childish crush on Flora was rejected. She had her fair share of sibling interactions with Corrin, but mostly she never conversed with anyone. A part of her blamed her social awkwardness on that.

No one spoke a word until Effie jogged up to them with Lilith floating at her side. Without her armor, she was actually a rather small woman, but anyone that saw the muscles on her legs and arms would never take her lightly. 

“Dinner’s ready,” she said as she smiled at Lilith. “Lilith here tried her hand at cooking. From what I tasted, it’s pretty good!” 

Lilith smiled at the compliment and began to rock back and forth on her orb. “Thank you! I did try my best. The whole lack of arms things was an obstacle, but I made it work! Come on, let’s eat!” 

Effie beckoned for them to follow her as she and Lilith began heading back towards the mess hall. Selena was the first to stand, sighing and pulling on Laslow’s sleeve. Camilla helped Elise to her feet and brushed off her dress, Kamui and Silas being the last to stand. 

“Ah, make sure you eat a lot. We’re all likely going to need the energy for whatever Father has planned for us soon,” Kamui advised. Her companions nodded and began to walk behind her.

She hoped that they didn’t notice her shudder. 

* * *

The Hoshidan troops were met with open arms and cheers. 

Corrin was initially hesitant when he saw the armored soldiers standing guard on the perimeter of the area in which he was told Scarlet resided, but the moment they saw Hinoka’s face, they dropped their weapons and burst into a cheer. 

Takumi, Sakura, and Hinoka greeted several of the soldiers with whom they were apparently acquainted with large smiles on their faces. A handful of them gave their congratulations upon hearing of Sakura and Subaki’s engagement and a smaller amount asked Hinoka when she was going to get married, to which she responded by shoving one of them forward. Most of her life up until now had been dedicated to getting Corrin and Kamui back. Now that she had one of them, maybe she could find someone to settle down with. However, they _ were _at war, and the warrior princess of a superpower like Hoshido couldn’t afford to focus on things like that. 

The friendly aura was replaced with one of urgency when one of the Chevois soldiers sprinted up to the group and told them the news. 

“Scarlet just had the baby!” 

Takumi’s eyes widened and the color drained from Corrin’s face. Some of his companions gasped while others bore wide smiles. 

“She WHAT?! You mean to tell me that this entire time we’ve been talking, she’s been in labor? And none of you felt the need to tell any of us this?!” 

“Peace, Takumi.” Azura put a hand on his shoulder with a smile. “All that matters is that both she and the child are safe. Tanaka was your name, yes?” She gestured to a blonde soldier whom Sakura had been speaking to who nodded his head. “Is Ryoma here?” 

“Yes, Princess! He should be with Scarlet right now. Would you like me to show you the way?” 

“Yes, that would be ideal.” Corrin turned to face his army and scratched at the back of his neck. “Um…we probably shouldn’t _ all _go. We wouldn’t want to overwhelm them. I’d say that the first to see him should be his siblings and his retainers. The rest of you can go right after us, though!” 

They all nodded among each other and Hinata gave a hearty thumbs up. “That’s fine by us! It took a long time for us to get here, so you bet we want to see the baby, but we can wait just a little longer.”

The man named Tanaka began to lead Azura, Hinoka, Corrin, Takumi, Sakura, Saizo, and Kagero to the building in which Ryoma and Scarlet were located. He walked slowly at first, but began a light jog when Takumi demanded he pick up the pace. 

The building they arrived at was a humble one. It was about the size of a schoolhouse classroom, with enough space to move around freely but not enough to fit a large number of people. The windows on the front and sides had the curtains drawn and the oaken door was shut, but Corrin could hear laughing coming from the inside. He hadn’t seen Ryoma since he renounced Nohr weeks ago, so his heart was pounding in his chest. However, he had no time to think about what he would say to him before Takumi opened the door and walked straight in.

Lying down in a large bed and holding a bundle of blankets in her arms was the woman whom Corrin assumed was Scarlet. The laborious process of giving birth had drained the color from her freckled face, though her nose and the tips of her ears were still red as if she had a cold. Her blonde hair that was even shorter than Hinoka’s stuck out in various directions. Despite her current state, Corrin thought that she was quite pretty. 

Standing next to her was Ryoma and Corrin couldn’t help but smile. The man’s long brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail larger and of greater length than Takumi’s and he wore clothes that no one would ever expect to see the future king wear, simple brown trousers and a red tunic. He smiled warmly when he spotted his siblings and retainers in the doorway, raising his finger to his lips.

“Shh. He’s asleep now.” 

With tears welling in his eyes, Takumi slowly approached the bed and the other six followed behind him. Saizo and Kagero gave their liege an affirming nod that he quickly returned. They all gathered around the bedside to get a good look at the newborn prince of Hoshido. 

The sleeping baby was incredibly small, smaller than Corrin had expected. He had never seen a newborn child before nor had he seen a depiction of one, so he was surprised at just how tiny the boy was. He had a bright red face and while they were faint, his mother’s freckles were present on his face. His short brown hair had been dried but still stuck to his tiny forehead. In his sleep, the baby’s breathing was soft and gentle, the quiet sounds of his breath soothing Corrin’s nerves. 

“I’m glad you could all make it,” Ryoma began. “I apologize for leaving so suddenly, but I had to set out as soon as I could if I wanted to make it to Scarlet within a safe enough time frame. Takumi offered to come along and I obliged. Thank the gods that you found each other.”

“We had a run in with Mokushu, but it all worked out in the end,” Takumi informed him. “Something other stuff went down, but we’ll tell you about that later.” The boy leaned in closer to the baby in Scarlet’s arms and smiled, gently placing his hand on the baby’s head. “What’s his name?” 

“Shiro Sumeragi Asuka,” Scarlet responded, speaking for the first time since Corrin and company entered. “Wait, wouldn’t it be…Asuka Shiro Sumeragi? Does Hoshidan even do middle names?” 

Ryoma chuckled and shook his head. “It doesn’t, but it’s fine. He’s half Chevois anyway. He’ll be called Shiro Sumeragi of House Asuka.” 

_ Asuka? _Corrin thought. He didn’t know that the Hoshidan royal family even had a last name. Historically, the house that Garon descended from was called House Disendra, though the other houses had long since been dissolved. Corrin supposed that Disendra would technically be his surname, but he chose to embrace his true heritage. He smiled at the name “Corrin Asuka”. 

The young prince took a small step back when Scarlet looked directly at him, something that made her laugh. “I don’t bite, don’t worry. ‘S not like I can do much to you like this.” She chuckled again and adjusted herself in bed, leaning back against the large pillow behind her. “You’re Corrin, huh? It’s nice to meet you, I’m Scarlet.” 

She extended her hand and Corrin took it without much hesitation, shaking it softly. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I haven’t heard much about you really, but if Ryoma loves you enough to marry you, then I’m sure you’re wonderful.” 

Scarlet snorted, snickering to herself. “Tell that to the rest of Hoshido. When they found out he was marrying someone without noble blood—and a Nohrian no less—let’s just say that they weren’t too enthusiastic. It was even worse when I announced that I was pregnant. But eh, to hell with ‘em.” She ran her hand across her child’s head with a warm smile. “I swear, if any one of them slanders him for not being a full-blooded Hoshidan, they can talk to the business end of my lance.” 

Scarlet seemed to be the type of woman who would scare Corrin as a child. She wasn’t particularly ladylike, which he figured to be one of the reasons Ryoma fell in love with her. He was a strong man with a passion for fighting and she seemed to compliment that rather well. 

“Scarlet helped me a lot when I was learning how to fight,” Hinoka explained. “She’s not much older than me, but her dad taught her how to handle a weapon when she was young just in case. Tensions between Cheve and the rest of Nohr have been high for a while, you know. It looks like it paid off in the end, huh? Now she’s the leader of a whole damn rebellion!” 

The young woman waved the compliment off with a modest expression. “Eh, we don’t do much. It’s mostly just ambushing Nohrian officials who come by and training for the eventual uprising. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but it’s coming for sure.” 

“Let’s leave the war talk for later,” Ryoma suggested. “Now, let us celebrate new life.” 

Hearts filled with warmth as they witnessed a father holding his child for the first time, Ryoma gently scooping Shiro from Scarlet’s arms and looking down lovingly at his son’s sleeping face. Corrin was so overwhelmed by the sentimentality of it all that he failed to notice Kagero subconsciously taking his hand into hers. 

For three weeks after, the Hoshidans remained in Cheve with Scarlet and Ryoma. The prince had wanted them to return to Shirasagi, but Corrin insisted that they stay with them for safety’s sake. They kept a low profile, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. A messenger was sent back to Hoshido to spread the message that they were not far from home, which Corrin said would dissuade any attackers from marching on Hoshido. It apparently worked, as no battles were fought for that time. 

For the rest of his life, Corrin would hold his time spent in Cheve close to his heart. Without having to concern himself with marching to the next destination or fighting enemies, he had time to truly get to know his companions. For instance, after spending nearly five hours desperately searching all around the area for his Yato, he discovered that Orochi was quite the prankster. Sakura’s hidden sweet tooth also was brought to his attention after she apparently ate an entire box of something called red bean mochi that Kaden had made for her and Hayato. 

In addition to getting to know his companions a little more, Corrin also bore witness to romance blossoming among them. Hinata and Hana had actually made an impulse decision to get married right there in Cheve. The wedding was of course small. Neither parties were too concerned about traditionalism, the one regret of Hinata’s being that his parents were not there to see it. 

On top of that, Corrin began to notice Kaze and Azura spending more time together than usual. One afternoon he spotted her with her face in his chest and on the verge of tears. He wanted to ask her what that was about, but felt that it was not his place. Then there was Rinkah and Hayato. This one he felt was slightly off putting, as he did not know what Hayato’s actual age was. Corrin had long since taken note that Rinkah was always slightly more harsh on Hayato than she was to anyone else, but recently he had noticed that she had a harder time keeping her signature no-nonsense expression around him. 

And then there was Setsuna. 

“It’s fine,” she said as she skipped a stone across the surface of a small pond one day. The sun was setting in the sky, casting an orange hue on her small smile. The stone skipped once—twice—before sinking slowly down to the bottom of the pond. 

“Is it?” Corrin asked. It had been a week since he had shouted at her and probably would have just avoided speaking to her if it had not been for Kagero’s insistence on constantly reminding him to talk to her. He had finally worked up the courage to do so and had asked her to talk with him in private, and she suggested that they stand by the pond that she had taken a liking to. 

The archer nodded, picking up another stone from the pond’s edge. “Yeah, really. Corrin, I think that you’re the type of person that needs to let his emotions out from time to time, and I’m not the type that can deal with that.” She snapped her wrist as she threw the stone and this time it skipped three times. When Corrin did not respond, she turned to him and put her hand on her hip. “Let me put it this way. I think…you need a lightning rod to vent to, and I’m made of wood.” 

“What?” Corrin asked, blinking. “Setsuna, you’re confusing me.” 

“What I’m saying is that we’re just not compatible.” She turned back around and picked up one last stone, moving her arm back in preparation to throw it. “I like you a lot, and it’s cool if you like me a lot, too, but us being together just won’t work out in the end.” She stuck her tongue out and gave a final throw. The stone skipped across the pond’s surface a total of six times, much to her satisfaction. “You need someone that compliments your personality better.”

With a somewhat perplexed expression, Corrin ran his fingers through his hair and stared at Setsuna. For someone so airheaded, she could be strangely introspective. 

“Azama didn’t tell you all that, did he?” 

“Nope, that’s just what I think. I could be wrong.” Setsuna took a deep breath and smiled before sitting on the soft grass, then leaning back so that she was lying down and staring at the clouds overhead. “I think that you should be with…Kagero.” 

Corrin nearly choked on air, surprised at Setsuna’s sudden proposal. “W-what?!” 

“I would say Azura, since you two seem pretty close, but it looks like her and Kaze are about to become a thing.” Setsuna closed her eyes and deeply inhaled once again. “You and Kagero get along really well and she’s a super good listener. You were with me, so you’re definitely into weird girls, and she’s kind of socially awkward. There’s no reason not to at least try.”

“Setsuna, she’s my brother’s retainer! It’d be inappropriate!”

“I’m your sister’s retainer.”

Corrin immediately pressed his lips together. Truthfully, he had forgotten about that. Kagero was extremely dedicated to Ryoma and would lay down her life for him. Setsuna on the other hand…well, she did not seem to do a lot of retaining. It wasn’t a surprise that her position would slip Corrin’s mind. 

“Either way,” he began, “I don’t feel that way about her and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. On top of that, if we’re being honest…after you, I’m not really sure that I should be pursuing things like that right now. Not until everything’s settled down between us and Nohr.”

“Excuses excuses,” Setsuna said with a giggle. “You’d better make your move soon before some other handsome prince comes along and steals her away. You’ve got a good fish on your hook, Cooorriiin. Don’t let it go, now.” 

From then on, Corrin would think of Setsuna’s words whenever Kagero approached him to make conversation. When they would eat their meals together, her words would fade to white noise as Corrin focused on the little things about her. A stray rice grain that stuck to her bottom lip, maybe, or how she would sometimes have to move her hair out of her face in order to see properly. Whenever she was embarrassed, she would make the cute gesture of hiding her face behind the bright yellow scarf she always wore around her neck. Azura had even commented on how the two were spending more time together than ever, but Corrin just rebutted that she had been doing the same with Kaze. That comment silenced her as well as brought a red tint to her cheeks. 

Corrin also got to know Scarlet, much to his satisfaction. She was out of bed not long after giving birth to Shiro and had a spear back in her hand within a few days.

“So, this is one of the Yato blades!” Scarlet shouted as she spun her lance around, swinging it hard at Corrin’s head. He blocked the attack with the Yato’s flat end and forced the lance away, shoving Scarlet back in the process. 

She was the one who challenged him to a quick little sparring match, though Ryoma would only allow them to fight if he were to supervise. From off to the side, he intently watched the two go at each other, making sure that neither one truly hurt the other. 

Corrin was finding it difficult to avoid Scarlet’s jabs, as the blade of her lance was nearly the length of his forearm. The slashing he could deal with, but he had already taken several blows to the abdomen due to her frequent jabbing. He was impressed by the way she used her weapon as an extension of herself and flawlessly handled it. 

It had only been a minute since the match began and Corrin was already laid out on the ground. Scarlet had slammed the blunt end of her lance into his chest and knocked the wind out of him, sending him sliding across the dirt. 

The blonde woman snickered, approaching Corrin before extending her hand. “Man, you’re pretty good. If this were a real fight, I’m not sure I would have been able to beat you!” 

Corrin awkwardly smiled as she pulled him to his feet. He was sure that she could take his head off with ease if she truly wanted to, but he thought it best not to tell her that. 

“Thank you. I’ve trained a lot for pretty much all my life, so I would hope that I’d be at least a little skilled.” 

“You’re more than just ‘a little skilled’,” Ryoma said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Corrin was slightly startled by the sudden weight upon him, but Ryoma’s grip was firm yet gentle. It was comforting. “You’re a natural at this, Corrin. It looks like those Nohrians trained you well.” 

Corrin chuckled. “Maybe I’ll be better than even you one day?” 

“Well, I didn’t say all of _ that. _” 

The three of them joined together in laughter with not a care in the world, fully focused on simply enjoying the time they had together now. Ryoma had planned for all of them to return to Shirasagi in a week’s time and take Shiro with them, leaving Scarlet to continue her work as the leader of the Chevois rebellion. It would be a long journey back, but Ryoma had told the same messenger who had gone to Hoshido to send several caravans to Cheve. With that, they all would be able to return home safely and with haste. 

Little did any of them know, however, that very messenger had been captured and interrogated just days after he departed. 

He let out a blood curdling scream as Niles twisted the knife in his kneecap, looking at him with disappointment. “Come on, now. This would all be much, _ much _easier if you would just give in.” 

He was a young man of maybe twenty years or so and his age certainly showed. He lacked any sort of battle scars or markings to indicate that he had experienced war in all of its horror and glory. Silas had suggested that this was the reason why he was sent as a messenger—he was disposable. 

Despite his youth, the boy showed a resilience that Odin found to be admirable. Niles found it annoying. The boy breathed heavily through his grit teeth, saliva and blood falling from his mouth with every breath. Rough bark from the tree he was tightly tied to was certainly digging into his back, and yet he did not squirm. His bound fists were clenched tightly and his eyes were blindfolded with a black piece of fabric that Jakob had on him. The dagger Niles was using also happened to belong to the butler. 

Niles drew the sharp blade across the boy’s face and made him scream again. His cuts were agonizingly slow and placed in a way where the pain wouldn’t blend together. Instead, the boy felt each and every cut across his face individually. Kamui found it difficult to watch, but she knew that this was war, and there was no room for weakness. 

“Come on,” Niles said, raising the boy’s chin with his finger and giving him a sly smile. “Just be a good boy and give up their location. We aren’t going to do anything bad to your friends, honest. All we want to do is reunite a girl with her brothers and sisters—is that so wrong?” 

The boy gave a staggered breath and shook his head, lunging forward in an attempt to headbutt Niles. He was bound to the large tree much too tightly, though, so all he succeeded in doing was hurting his wrists even more. 

“F-Fuck…you…” 

“Ooh, such vulgar language. That’s alright. I can be vulgar, too.” 

Laslow winced as Niles placed the dagger’s tip on the middle of the boy’s chest, lightly tracing down, down, down…

“STOP!” The boy pleaded. “No no no no, please! I-I’ll tell you! I swear, I’ll tell you!” 

And with that, his resilience was shattered. 

Niles gave a satisfied smirk and spun the dagger around before tossing it back to Jakob, who snatched it from the air and began to clean it with a handkerchief. “Now that’s what I want to hear. Go on, spill it.” 

“Ch-Cheve,” the boy choked out. He let out a heavy breath the instant the word escaped past his lips, filled with regret. “They’re in Cheve. All of the princes and princesses as well as their retainers. They’re supposed to leave in two week’s time.” 

The archer gave his companions a smile before taking his bow off his back and docking an arrow in it. “Cheve, huh? That’s good, we were already going there. Looks like the gods have smiled on us today. Hey, why don’t you go on and tell us what your name is?” 

Kamui was glad that not everyone was currently present. She had intentionally left Elise with her retainers in the Astral Plane, along with a few others. Her eyes thinned as Niles drew back his bow and aimed at the young man.

“It’s…It’s Hiroshi,” he said, tears of guilt streaming down his blood covered face. “My name is Hiroshi.” 

“Hiroshi,” Niles parroted with a slow nod. “That’s a nice name. Thanks for the information, Hiroshi.” 

The next moment, Hiroshi’s head was pinned to the thick tree trunk with an arrow. His mouth was wide open and his tongue was lolling out. The grotesque and horrific sight was almost comical looking. Garon gave a satisfied nod and turned to Kamui. 

“It’s a shame that Leo couldn’t be here to see his retainer do quite the job. Now we know that the Hoshidans are in the exact place we were going to in the first place.” A smile crept across the king’s face—a smile that his daughter did not like. It had a sinister nature to it, as if Garon were taking some sort of sick pleasure in his plans to raze that one small area in Cheve to the ground. Kamui admittedly felt a little nauseous. She was fine with doing another simple rebellion suppression job, but _ everyone _was going to be there? She felt a small amount of relief that she was going to see Ryoma again, but under these circumstances…

Hans gave a hearty laugh and rested his ax over his shoulder, eager to get to Cheve as fast as possible. “Well then, what’s the hold up? Kamui, open up that portal of yours so we can get in, then you can get a move on!” 

Kamui’s expression soured. Hans, Iago, and her father hadn’t done one bit of marching the whole way. Once she told them about the ability to access the Astral Plane that she possessed, Iago gave some speech about how a king’s feet should never ache and insisted that they rest in leisure while Kamui and a few others marched along. 

“Yes…” Kamui turned to the side and moved her hand in a circular motion, the doorway to the Astral Plane opening up at once. Iago entered first, then Hans. Garon took a few steps forward before placing his large hand on Kamui’s head and rubbing it, looking down on her with a smile. He did not say a word, instead silently entering the other dimension.

The princess felt a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach, but quickly pushed it aside when she reminded herself of the two scoundrels who were invading her personal area for her and her friends alone. She pulled Camilla aside and spoke to her once Garon was out of earshot. 

“I want you to watch them closely. If either one of those two so much as look at Elise wrong, I need you to immediately let Lilith know so that she can come and get me. Just call her name and she’ll hear you. Can you do that for me, Sister?”

Camilla gave her a loving smile before nodding her head. “Oh, my baby sister is so grown up now…of course. I’ll put my ax where the sun doesn’t shine if I have to, darling. Stay safe!” She placed a kiss on Kamui’s forehead before turning around and following her father. Kamui closed the portal and sighed. 

Silas approached her with a frown and sympathetic eyes. She could tell he wanted to talk about what they were setting out to do, but she ignored him. “Jakob,” she began. “Lead the way to Cheve.” 

* * *

On the hill overlooking the Chevois village, Kagero sat down on a simple wooden chair that she had borrowed from the dinning hall. The pointed legs dug into the dirt in such a way that she was sitting slightly uneven, but she did not mind. Her easel and canvas were perfectly upright, and that was all that mattered. The setting sun sat on the horizon and cast a warm glow on the village, something that Kagero was attempting to replicate with her painting. 

“Do you think he has feelings for you?” Orochi asked, her fingers dancing through Kagero’s hair as she braided it. “I mean, he’s kind of easy to read, so it shouldn’t be hard to tell.” 

“I don’t know, Orochi,” Kagero answered as she gently placed the very tip of her brush on the canvas. The red she was currently using was going to be used for painting the armory, though she truly felt that it was far too bright. It was all she had to work with, however. “You can ask him if you would like, but I’m not going to try.” 

“Whyyy?” The diviner whined. “Think about it! He’s pretty cute, well mannered, kind, and he’s Ryoma’s brother! You marrying him would be perfect.” 

“I’ve known him for barely over a month. You don’t take me for a fast woman, do you?” 

“No no, of course not! All I’m saying is that if the chemistry is there, then there’s no point in rejecting it!” 

Kagero was glad that Orochi was facing her back, otherwise she’d see that her face was the same shade of paint that she was using. She half regretted bringing it up in the first place; she should have known that Orochi would become the biggest supporter of the idea immediately. She was always playing matchmaker when they were younger, so it came as no surprise that she was now trying to get Kagero to confess her feelings to the young prince. 

She was not entirely opposed to the idea, but the problem was that she was not sure what her feelings even were. She was very comfortable around Corrin and could talk to him about essentially anything, but did that mean that she was in love with him? Kagero did not know. Her only previous experience with romance had been with Saizo, and even then she was unsure about her feelings for him. In the end, the two broke up due to their differences in work philosophy. Saizo was willing to lay down his life for Ryoma under any circumstances, Kagero was not.

She wasn’t opposed to the idea of spending the rest of her life with Corrin. Once the war concluded, she wanted to settle down and start a family, though at the same time wished to continue her duties as Ryoma’s retainer. She was sure that Corrin would make a good husband and perhaps even a competent father, but ultimately, it all came down to how he felt. 

Minutes had passed before Orochi spoke, sitting up and squinting into the distance. “Um…Kagero? Iss the rebellion supposed to be getting another batch of troops about now?” 

Kagero shook her head, far too distracted by her painting. “No, not that I know of. I haven’t heard anything from Scarlet, at the very least.” 

The diviner rose to her feet and her heart began to pound in her chest as the dozen or so soldiers marched forward, steadily approaching Cheve from the rear. “Then I think we’re about to be under attack.” 

It took two minutes for Kagero to run down the hill and spread the message. It only took one for everyone to be armed and ready. 

Kamui and her soldiers were nearing their destination when Iago stopped to conjure up what he called “assurance”. Dozens of Faceless appeared from out of nowhere and marched alongside them. Kamui’s first instinct was to attack immediately, but Garon assured her that they were on their side. Elise cowered behind Camilla, whimpering any time one of the beasts so much as glanced in her general direction. 

This was quite startling to the lookout that Scarlet sent to the watchtower at once, who saw a sudden sea of green and black surrounding the previously small group that he had been monitoring. Now, the Chevois were outnumbered. 

Corrin’s heart went from frantically pounding to gently beating in his chest when Scarlet handed Shiro to him. He had known her for barely three weeks, but the trust that she must have put in him at the time was astronomically large. 

“Put him in that pocket dimension thing that you have. You have someone there to watch over him, right? Make sure that he’s safe.” 

When Corrin nodded in confirmation, Scarlet gave him a big grin and patted him on the shoulder. “I knew I could count on you. Don’t let me down, Corrin!” She jogged off at once towards Ryoma, who was shouting commands at the Chevois soldiers standing at attention. 

With haste, Corrin entered the Astral Plane and gave Lilith a summary of the situation, then asking her if she would take care of Shiro. She was shocked that she was being asked to look after a child, but accepted her task without any complaint. Corrin trusted her with his life, so he thought it would be appropriate to trust her with the life of another. 

Once Corrin reemerged back in the material plane, he spotted the first Faceless to come forth from the surrounding woods and step foot in the village. It was dispatched promptly by a Chevois archer, but was almost immediately replaced with another. More and more came through, eventually toppling many of the tall trees that made up the woods’ edge. 

“Everyone!” he heard Ryoma call out. He could not see where his brother was, but Corrin was suddenly met with dozens of Chevois rebels charging forward at the monstrous menace. One after the other the beasts fell, being taken down by bow and blade alike. 

“Hey!” Corrin felt a rushed tapping on his shoulder and quickly turned around. Standing before him were several of his companions, all with their weapons in hand. Sakura stood between Takumi and Hinoka, both of whom had determined expressions on their faces. Kagero stood right in front of them, holstering several throwing knives in her belt. The one who had called him had been Oboro, who was not bearing her typical scowl. Instead, she looked at Corrin with trust in her eyes, almost as if she were relying on him. “We’re with you—everyone else is with either Ryoma or Azura. You got this?” 

While he was thrown off guard, Corrin quickly nodded and turned his head towards the enemy. He was a leader. He knew that he had to keep a level head no matter how hectic the situation got. 

“Oboro, Takumi, you two take the left side. Hinoka and Sakura, I want you to fly to the back and flank them from there. If you’re at all in trouble, get out of there as soon as you can. Kagero, follow my lead. Understood?” 

Goosebumps made their way across Corrin’s skin as his subordinates all nodded in understanding, his brother and his brother’s retainer taking off in one direction while his sisters took to the sky. He was left alone with Kagero, who held in her hand a small sword. 

“What are your orders?” she asked. 

He swallowed before simply gesturing forward, then taking off with Kagero following behind him. 

On Kamui’s end, things were far less frantic. As far as she knew, the Faceless were making progress just as they planned, but she could not help but feel as if the frontline was getting thinner and thinner by the minute. When Camilla swooped down atop her giant violet wyvern, her suspicions were confirmed. 

“The Chevois are dealing with the Faceless we sent rather smoothly…Beruka also spotted what appear to be some of the Hoshidans we fought a couple of weeks ago, so we’ve all but confirmed Corrin’s presence.” She turned to face her father and bit her lip. “Father, if we are to be victorious, what shall we do with Corrin? We just left him last time we fought.” 

“That is because it was a fight we did not win,” Garon put bluntly. “This time, we will crush them. Once they are all defeated, we will take Corrin back to Windmire and he will be dealt with there.” 

Camilla hesitated to ask him to define _ dealt with _ and ultimately decided to hold her tongue, instead looking to Kamui with a warm smile. “Stay close to me, Kamui. If anyone dares lay a finger on you, I’ll be sure to have Hela here rip them to shreds,” she said, rubbing her wyvern’s neck with affection. 

Kamui smiled. While Camilla could be a bit morbid at times, at least she knew that she cared. “I appreciate that, sister. Be sure to watch for arrows and any sort of projectile magic, alright? One hit in the wrong place and you come crashing down.” 

With an affirmative nod, Camilla once again took off, soaring through the air with Beruka. Kamui took a deep breath. She was used to fighting with only those with whom she knew personally, so being surrounded by all of these monsters made her a little anxious. She knew that they were on her side, but she could not help but feel that one of them might turn on her and knock her head off with a single punch at any given moment. She did not like the menacing aura that they gave off at all. 

Kamui took a quick glance back at her Father before returning her eyes forward. He did not have a weapon of any sort in his hand and they were nearing the battlefield, so she could only assume that he would not be fighting. Garon was strong, but he was old. If he were to be put at a disadvantage in a fight, Kamui figured that he just might die. 

“Eyes up,” Silas said to Kamui as he flicked her ear to get her attention. A shudder ran down her spine and she looked at him with angry eyes.

“Do _ not _ touch my ears,” she demanded. Silas simply jabbed his thumb forward and Kamui looked ahead, realizing that they were now out of the woods. At this point, the Faceless had broken formation and were recklessly attacking any Chevois that entered their cone of vision. She winced as she witnessed one of the beasts tear off the arm of a large and burly man before she quickly turned around, meeting the gaze of the soldiers she had amassed over the past months. 

Iago faced her with her arms crossed and a sinister grin on his face, like a child who had trapped an animal in a pit and was waiting to see what it did. Hans on the other hand just looked bloodthirsty, his hairy knuckles white from gripping the handle of his ax so tightly.

“Alright, everyone…” Kamui began with an exhale. “Not counting Elise, Silas and Peri are our only cavalry units. I want each of you to have one healer with you, so Jakob and Elise. Arthur, you stay with Elise. Odin, Selena—you two are with Peri. Niles, you’re with Silas. Effie, make sure no one on Silas’ squad takes too much damage. Mozu, I want you to stay next to Jakob. Can you do that?” 

Mozu nodded with determination in her eyes, drawing her steel sword from its sheath. She had come a long way from being just a simple farm girl whose family had been killed; Kamui couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride for her. 

“What about you?” Peri asked with a frown. 

Flourishing the Yato, Kamui only gave a confident smirk in return. “Peri’s squad take the left, Silas’ the right.” She looked at Iago, who was circling one hand around the other as he prepared a destructive spell. He seemed preoccupied with his magic, but Kamui couldn’t be too careful. She leaned in and whispered to her friends “try not to kill too many people, okay?” 

Laslow made a joke about how difficult that would be for Peri and received a shove in response. “Break!” Kamui called. The squads took off in either direction, leaving the path down the middle for Kamui. She prepared to run off before Garon put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. 

“It seems like only yesterday I brought you home when you were just a small child. Now look at you. You’ve grown into such a strong young woman.” A grin crept across his face. Kamui felt that it was supposed to be endearing, but only came off as sinister. “Go on and make your father proud, my daughter.” 

Kamui bit her bottom lip and gave Garon a tentative nod before taking off straight ahead. Never before in her life had she gotten any sort of affection from him, so the fact that he had been much more loving towards her recently boggled her mind. She thought it was likely because she was proving herself to be a formidable leader and a competent fighter. Garon respected those traits, and as such, he now respected her.

The first person to attack Kamui was a young Chevois spearman with dark brown hair. She admired his bravery, for he undoubtedly could recognize exactly who she was by her distinct appearance—vibrant red eyes, pointed ears, a legendary sword—and yet still thought it to be a fine idea to raise his spear at her. He let out a battle cry that was quickly cut short as Kamui rammed into him with her shoulder, knocking him to the ground. She might have been small, but she could certainly hit hard. Kamui raised her foot high and stomped onto the hand the man was holding the spear with, crushing his fingers beneath her boot. She heard him scream in pain as she continued pushing through the battlefield. 

From what Beruka had surveyed initially, the area that they were fighting in was quite large. On one end was the woods that they had emerged from and on the other was a large lake which wrapped around the left side, leaving the only retreat option for the Hoshidans and Chevois being the right path that led further into Cheve. If they could block off that side, then they would have the enemy surrounded and victory would be theirs. Of course, this was all assuming that Azura would not just clear the water from the lake and have her friends retreat into it whilst flooding her enemies. Kamui was not sure exactly what Azura could do with that ability of hers, but she was not eager to find out. 

Unfortunately for her, she did not have a choice. A silver dagger flew by her head and into the skull of a Faceless behind her, causing it to drop down dead. Blood began to trickle from Kamui’s ear and she turned around to face her adversaries. She recognized Azura, Kaze, and Rinkah and felt as if she had seen the large golden-furred fox the last time she fought Hoshido, but she could not specifically recall. 

“Ready for round two, ninja?” she asked, twirling the Yato in her hand before assuming a fighting stance. “As for you, girl, I’ll beat you in a way my brother never could.” 

“Kamui,” Azura said firmly. “Think about this. It’s four on one. Do you really believe that you can take us all on?” 

The princess did not respond, instead opting to start off the fight on her terms. She swept her arm in front of her and fired off a crescent of fire that her enemies all dove to the side to avoid. Rinkah kicked off of the dirt and raised her club in the air, though her attack was cut short by Kamui slamming the side of the Yato into her abdomen and grounding her. Kamui winced in pain as a dagger sank into her thigh. She did not dwell on it, however. She quickly grabbed the handle and drew it from her body, tossing it aside just in time to raise her leg and bend it, interrupting Kaze’s dash and causing his face to crash directly into her knee.

Kamui jumped back and avoided the jaws of the kitsune attacking her, then bringing the Yato’s hilt down on his skull and forcing him into the ground. Finally, Azura jabbed forward with her lance and just barely managed to graze Kamui’s cheek, making a cut a centimeter deep. 

“I don’t want to fight you!” she shouted, blocking Kamui’s attacks with the handle of her weapon while at the same time being forced to back up with every step Kamui took forward. 

“That makes one of us!” Kamui punched forward and shot a fireball from her fist, the flames singeing Azura’s dress as well as her skin. The songstress cried out in pain and stumbled back, giving Kamui the opportunity to lunge forward and wrap her fingers tightly around Azura’s delicate neck. 

Azura tried to force herself away by scraping her feet on the dirt, but Kamui simply walked forward with her sword raised in one hand and a fire in her eyes. She was fully prepared to plant the blade firmly in Azura’s stomach before she was suddenly struck in the head by something hard and moving at an incredibly fast speed. 

The next moment, Kamui was laid out on the ground and her vision was clouded by darkness. She was only barely able to make out Azura climbing atop a pegasus ridden by a man with long red hair and then taking off. Once her sight cleared up, Kamui rose to her feet and put her hand to her head, then looking at the blood that now stained her palm. 

“J-Jakob!” she shouted, stumbling forward in a daze. She cursed herself under her breath before falling to one knee. She should not have gone off alone. Jakob and Elise were the only healers among her group and neither of them were anywhere near her. If anyone noticed her attempting to hide behind a tall tree with dense leaves, they would have been able to kill her with ease. 

As she steadied her breathing, Kamui suddenly stood up in surprise when she felt the pain in her head subside and the wound began to heal. Did one of her healers find her? She looked around expecting to see her sister or her retainer, but was instead met with the face of a made a few yards away, tentatively holding a short healing staff in her hand. 

“You can’t die here, Kamui!” she called, looking behind her before taking several steps back.

“Felicia…?” Kamui whispered to herself. “Felicia!” She began to run towards her, but the girl had disappeared among the Chevois soldiers marching forward. Frustrated, she gave a shout and shoved her arm forward, a wave of ice creeping over the men and women. Many of them were fully encased in the ice and would be dead in due time, but the majority only had parts of their bodies trapped. Just like that, Kamui had taken out dozens of soldiers in only one move. 

A ways away, Corrin suddenly turned his attention from the Faceless he had just defeated to a bolt of lightning striking down from the sky. He was grateful that he could have a good idea of where Ryoma would be at any given time, but his positive thoughts turned dark when he spotted Camilla hurling spheres of flames down on the Chevois. He prayed she wouldn’t notice him from up there and quickly began to run forward toward another Faceless, only to be stopped by Kagero grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him back. A small tomahawk whizzed past him and lodged itself in a tree; he would have been struck directly if he had not been stopped.

“Rats!” Peri snapped her fingers in frustration and raised her lance in the air, prepared to gallop towards the Hoshidans before her and strike. Selena held her sword before Kamui—the horse—to stop her. 

“Don’t just rush in, gods. You’ll get yourself killed that way,” she said as she slowly lowered her arm. 

Corrin shielded his face while Kagero drew a sword. The instant he saw Elise’s expression, he felt compelled to hide his own. He did not wish to face her after nearly murdering her father in front of her in cold blood. Kagero however showed no qualms, pointing her sharp blade at the princess. 

Arthur assumed a fighting stance and Odin flipped over to the middle of the tome he was holding, imbuing his fingertips with arcane energy. “Heinous fiends! Surrender at once, or face the wrath of Odin Dark!” 

“Cut the theatrics, Odin,” Selena demanded. She scowled at Corrin and Kagero, then lowering her sword. “Look, I want you two to think about this. It’s five on two. You don’t have a healer, two of us are on horses, and one of us has magic. Are you _ really _sure that this is a fight you want to take?”

Corrin briefly locked eyes with his companion before looking back to his opponents. A million things ran through his head at once. If they could isolate Elise from the rest of them and get Peri off of her horse, then they stood a chance. But how would they go about doing that? Kagero had virtually no armor, so she could not take hits, meaning that fighting multiple people at once was not the best plan for her. 

“Corrin,” Selena said, roughly pulling him out of his own head. “What’s it going to be?” 

Moments passed before anyone made a move, but just when it seemed like he was going to yield, Corrin struck. Hard scales spiraled down his arm as it transformed into a long lance and he struck Selena in the center of the chest, knocking her back. Before anyone could react, Kagero took hold of a shuriken and threw it in one swift motion. The projectile lodged itself in the back of Odin’s hand, making him shout out in pain and drop his tome. 

Arthur drew his ax back and prepared to swing it forward, but Corrin lunged forward and slammed the butt of the Yato into his nose. He stumbled back with his head low, allowing Corrin to raise his sword and once again slam the hilt into his head.

“Arthur!” Elise cried, her horse stumbling back. She instinctively moved forward a little with the intent to heal him, but froze. She did not want to approach her older brother, especially when he held a weapon in his hands. 

Peri showed no restraint, charging forth with her lance at the ready. Kagero swiftly jumped to the side to avoid a stab, swinging at the horse’s leg but missing by just a hair. The next instant, a hoof slammed into her forehead and split it open, blood pouring from the wound as she lay on the ground. She was dazed, but she knew that she could not let herself fall. Peri stabbed down and Kagero rolled out of the way, springing to her feet. Metal clashed against metal before Kagero’s blade cut dragged across Peri’s cheek and came away covered in blood. The girl screamed in pain and thrashed about, falling from her horse and rolling around frantically with her hands pressed against her face. 

Kagero had managed to cut right through Peri’s cheek, her sword having pierced the flesh. The wound nearly ran to the corner of her mouth, but luckily for her, Kagero had drawn back before she got that far. It did not seem like Peri was going to get back anytime soon, so Kagero took a moment to take a breath and recollect herself. 

Meanwhile, Corrin knelt down a few meters ahead, his knee pressed into Arthur’s back to keep him down. His eyes were locked with Elise’s and his expression was hardened and steadfast. Elise however bore a frown, concern in her eyes as she frequently looked passed her brother and her comrades. 

“Corrin, I n-need to heal them.”

There they were, the first words that she had spoken to him since he abandoned Nohr. The hurt in her voice sent a shudder down Corrin’s spine, but he remained where he was. 

“They’re fine, Elise.” Corrin glanced behind him to get a look at Elise’s allies. Peri was on the ground, Odin was unable to channel magic due to his hand injury, and Selena was in the process of fighting Kagero. “Their wounds aren’t fatal; they’ll live.” 

“But they’re hurt,” Elise pointed out in a small voice. “They’re in pain. I have to…heal them…” 

Corrin did not respond, leaving Elise to pathetically hold her staff at her side while Cottonbelle traced her hoof across the dirt. Corrin bided himself right in that spot, listening to the sounds of war around him. Metal clangs, cackling fire and lightning from the mages’ tomes, screams of pain and anguish. He held his breath for what felt like forever until Kagero arrived at his side and placed her hand on his shoulder. 

“Fiends,” Arthur grunted, his face pressed into the dirt by Kagero’s foot. “You’ve betrayed not only your country, but your family. What do you have to say for yourself, villain?” 

“Silence, or I’ll cut your tongue out myself,” Kagero threatened. Arthur stopped speaking at once. 

“W-what, are you just going to let them lay there suffering? What if one of _ your _soldiers comes by to finish them off? Are you just going to let that happen?” Elise asked. Before Corrin could answer, her lip started to quiver as her voice wavered. “I know you don’t know them, but they’re my friends. Don’t you care about me?” 

Corrin grit his teeth and looked away. He _ hated _seeing Elise cry. Kamui would always call her a crybaby due to how prone she was to bursting into tears as a child, and every time she did, Corrin was the one consoling and comforting her. He hadn’t seen her cry in almost a year and he did not want the first time since then to be while facing her on a battlefield. 

“Of course I care about you, little sister. I love you. I would never hurt you. But you must understand that the cause you are fighting for is _ not _just.” Corrin deeply inhaled and gave Kagero a look. She nodded and scanned the area with her eyes, a dagger in her hand. Anyone that dare come near would surely have to answer to her. “King Garon is an evil, vicious, cruel man. He takes and takes and when he doesn’t get what he desires, he destroys. Elise, Nohr is—”

“So what?!” Elise shouted, balling her fists as tears began to roll down her face. “You think I don’t know that? Don’t talk to me like I’m a little kid, Corrin! I know more than you think, but I don’t _ care _about any of that! He’s our father! Leo and Xander, they’re your brothers! Me, Camilla, Kamui, we’re your sisters! Not these strangers that you don’t even know!” 

“They’re my birth family…” 

“They don’t _ know _ you, damn it!” Elise grit her teeth and slammed her staff into the dirt with wide eyes. “It’s bonds, not blood, that make a family. Xander told me that.”

Corrin’s breath halted when Elise said those words. He was shocked. His happy, innocent little sister was now talking to him…just like Kamui would. Elise’s voice caught in her throat as she continued. 

“Please, come back to us. We promise that we’ll do everything we can to make Father not punish you too harshly. If he tries to kill you, we can fight him ourselves. We can end the war peacefully from one side, Corrin, can’t you see that?” 

“I can’t,” Corrin said through his teeth. “I can’t abandon everyone like that. I can’t leave Hoshido, not now. I can’t let everyone down and I can’t betray my convictions. I’m sorry, Elise. I just can’t.” 

Elise knelt forward and draped her arms around Cottonbelle’s neck, resting her head on the horse with her eyes half shut and her tears still flowing. She sniffled and shook her head, her horse taking a couple of small steps back. 

“All I want is for us to be a family again.”

Suddenly, Corrin was hit with the force of a falling boulder and immediately ended up sprawled out on the ground a ways away from where he originally was. Kagero raised her sword to retaliate, but the thick, club-like tail of Hela the wyvern slammed into her chest and knocked her to the dirt. Arthur, now free, sprung to his feet and put his fists on his hips.

“Lady Camilla!” he wheezed, attempting to hide his struggling to catch his breath. “You have come to our rescue! Oh, glory be to you!” 

Once again Arthur was ignored, Camilla instead opting to slide down off of her mount’s back and pull her little sister into a hug. “Come on,” she said. “We’re getting you away from here.” 

“I have to heal everyone!” Elise responded, immediately bounding off towards Odin. Kagero began to stand in an effort to give pursuit, but a fireball crashed into the ground directly in front of her and scorched the earth. Camilla stood with her hand engulfed in flames which burned almost as hot as the fire in her eyes. 

“Don’t. You. Dare.” 

Corrin knew how strong Camilla was. She was no Xander, but when it came to defending those close to her, she was like a bear protecting her cubs. She showed no mercy and no regard for anything but the safety of her companions. He shook his head at Kagero to signal to her not to pursue Elise and she began to back up towards her commander. 

“Oh, my poor baby brother. Won’t you come back to us?” Camilla asked in a doting tone. “We all love you so much; it would be a shame if we never got to be together again.” Even as she said those tender and loving words, she slowly walked towards the two, dragging her large ax behind her as Arthur followed. 

This was bad. Even with both Corrin and Kagero’s skills put together, he knew that there was little chance that they could stand up to Camilla. Before she could get too close, he quickly slung Kagero’s arm over his shoulder and sprouted his wings, giving one powerful flap to take to the air. He ascended as high as he thought was appropriate—which was the height at which he could no longer make out faces out a glance—before folding his wings and diving down. He extended them once more when he was low enough, gliding over the dozens of Chevois soldiers and Faceless monsters. He soared quickly past everyone below him, the wind rushing through his hair and making his eyes water. When he arrived at a small cave carved into the side of a large hill, he leaned back and slowly came to a halt, his feet digging into the dirt before he rested Kagero on the cave wall, his hand cupping her face.

“Gods, your head is bleeding badly. Are you dizzy? Are you hurt anywhere else?” 

Kagero coughed, wincing each time from the pain in her chest. “It’s possible that I have a few cracked ribs, but I’m otherwise fine. You don’t need to concern yourself with me.” 

“Oh my.” 

Both parties quickly turned their heads to the caves entrance where Azama stood with a smile on his face, Felicia at his side. Despite the sage’s typical gleeful expression, the two of them were covered from head to toe in blood. Before Corrin could ask, Felicia answered.

“U-uh…one of the monsters ripped off someone’s head. Th-the blood spray…” The maid shuddered. Her eyes were filled with horror as she blankly stared ahead. Corrin could tell that she was on the verge of vomiting. 

“I’ll help with that,” Azama said. He walked over to Kagero and knelt down, the orb on his staff glowing in congruence with his hand. He placed his palm over the wound on Kagero’s forehead and hummed as it closed itself, the only evidence of its existence being the blood covering half of her face. “I eased some of the pain, too, but I can tell at a glance that your ribs are indeed cracked. That’s going to take more healing than I can do at the moment, I’m sorry. At least you’re alive.” 

“Yes, thank you.” Kagero grunted as she stood, Corrin’s hand falling weakly from her cheek. “Felicia, could you heal Corrin now?” 

“What?” Corrin asked. He shook his head at his retainer. “I don’t need any healing. I’m fine.” 

“Your finger…” Felicia said, gesturing to his hand. Corrin looked down at his left hand and made a sour expression. His middle finger was very apparently broken, having been bent back at a gruesome angle. That was when he started to feel the pain slowly making itself known. He drew in a sharp breath, wrapping his other hand around his broken finger and squeezing. 

“It must have bent when Hela crashed into me. Felicia, could you?” 

The ice tribe princess nodded. Her small staff glowed white in tandem with her hand as she took hold of Corrin’s finger. The young prince momentarily winced, though the pain soon subsided when his finger was fully healed. He opened and closed his fist a few times before smiling. 

“Thank you.”

“We shouldn’t linger any longer,” Kagero pointed out, rising to her feet and walking over to the mouth of the cave. “With you two here, Sakura is our only healer. Corrin and I should also be out there fighting.” 

“You’re right,” Corrin responded. “We’ve no time to waste. Let’s—” 

Just then, a gust of air with the force of a hurricane rushed into the cave and flung everyone in it back against the wall. Corrin had the wind knocked out of him and fell flat on his face while everyone else managed to stay on their feet. The young prince got on all fours before rising to his feet, immediately gagging when a horrible odor entered his nose. 

“Gods, what is that?” Felicia asked, pinching her nose as her eyes began to water. Kagero grimaced.

“It’s sulfur…” 

The grass directly before them was not scorched too badly, but they could still hear the smoldering flames dancing across the dried blades. What they also heard were groaning and cries of pain being abruptly cut out. Even Azama appeared to be unnerved by these sounds. Corrin glanced back at his companions before bolting straight out of the cave. He did not care what could be waiting for him outside, he had to see what had happened. 

The prince nearly stumbled to the ground upon realizing what had occurred. His eyes wide and his pupils small, he stared at the decimated land before him in horror. Smoke and ash floated through the air and the field was littered with scorched bodies of fallen Chevois soldiers, some of their weapons permanently burned into the flesh of their hands. Several of them were still crawling around, begging for their lives before being finished off by the few remaining Faceless. Trees and buildings alike were burning and it appeared that even the lake itself was on fire. 

“S-Sakura?” Corrin choked out, forcing his legs to move him forward. He began to run through the burning field, calling out any name he could think of. “Ryoma! Hinoka! Setsuna! Takumi! Hana, Oboro, anyone! AZURA!” 

“Corrin!” 

Subaki touched down roughly on his pegasus next to Corrin, breathing heavily and coughing from breathing in the smoke. His face was covered in dried blood, cuts and bruises, and ash that had been caked onto his skin. The usually beautiful man now looked like a proper soldier. 

“Subaki! Where is—”

“No time, we have to go!” Before Corrin could protest, Subaki grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him onto his mount with surprising might. 

“What?!” Corrin grabbed onto Subaki’s waist as the pegasus suddenly took off, gaining altitude quickly. “No no no, we can’t go! There are still three people in a cave down there!” 

“We’ll send someone to retrieve them, then! As long as they stay put, they’ll be fine!” 

Corrin bit down on his dry tongue and stared down onto the Cheve village. The place he had grown to know over the past few weeks was completely and utterly destroyed. What hadn’t been obliterated in the initial explosion—wherever it came from—was being consumed by flames. 

“What happened…?” Corrin whispered.

“From what I could see from above, one mage cast a spell that did all of this. I’ve only been able to locate a few of us. The rest…all we can do is hope.” 

Corrin sat silent for a minute or two, choosing instead to simply stare at the ground. It was outstanding just how far the destruction stretched—it seemed to never end. Finally, Subaki dived down into a section of forest that had managed to escape the explosion. Trembling, Corrin slipped off of the pegasus and onto the grass, only to be immediately tackled into a hug by Azura. 

“Thank the gods you’re alright,” she said, tightly embracing him. Hinoka descended the next moment with Kaze and Setsuna on her mount. When Azura pulled away from the hug, Corrin made note of who was currently present. There was him, Azura, Subaki and Hinoka, Setsuna, Kaze, Hinata, Oboro, Takumi, Ryoma, Sakura and Kaden. The kitsune appeared to be devastated due to his now scorched clothes and singed hair, making desperate attempts to mend his tunic by stretching the fabric to no avail. 

“We’re still missing Kagero, Saizo, Hana, Azama, Orochi, Hayato, Rinkah, Scarlet, and Felicia. Corrin told me the location of the three of them, so I’ll go get Felicia, Azama, and Kagero. Hinoka, find as many others as you can, alright?” 

When he received a nod from the princess, Subaki once again took off into the air. Hinoka looked to Hinata and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ll find her. I promise.” 

“Y-yeah.” The swordsman swallowed and rubbed his arm, his eyes trained on the ground. Hinoka briefly hugged Corrin, looking him directly in the eye when she stepped back. 

“Don’t worry, Subaki’s good at search and rescue. I’m sure that he’ll get Kagero back in one piece. Felicia, too. I know that you’re close to them.” 

Under normal circumstances, Corrin would have denied what Hinoka was suggesting, but this time he simply nodded, biting his lip. “I know. I have faith in him. I have faith in you, too. Good luck out there, Sister.” 

When Hinoka took off, Corrin turned his attention to his eldest brother. Ryoma sat atop a large rock, his eyes facing the clouds. Before he could ask, Azura answered his question for him. 

“He’s watching the skies, waiting.” 

“Waiting?” Corrin asked. “For what?” 

Azura looked at him with a frown. Corrin was smart, but this time he could not come to his own conclusion. 

“No one’s seen Scarlet since the explosion.” 

* * *

It was over. 

Silas was exhausted. Sweat was soaking into the soles of his armored shoes and his limbs were sore, rubbed raw from all of the running and fighting. His groin also ached, as Agro’s saddle had come undone early in the battle and he had to ride his horse bareback for its remainder. 

The knight was however relieved that the fighting had ceased. Once Iago cast his spell, _ Ginnungagap _, it was all downhill from there for the Chevois and Hoshidans. While they were going around and finishing off anyone that had managed to survive, they hadn’t been able to find anyone Hoshidan, much to Hans’ displeasure. He chose to express his anger and frustration through brutality, and…Silas did not want to think about it. 

To his knowledge, almost everyone had reconveined with Hans and Iago a ways away from the village’s armory. All he was doing was making one last round around the area and checking for any lingering Chevois, anyone that may have been hiding or just hadn’t succumbed to their injuries yet. 

The knight came to a sudden stop upon spotting a familiar figure standing a few yards away. She was completely and perfectly still, her arms at her side and her sword held loosely in her fingers. Squinting, Silas casually jogged up to her.

“Hey, Kamui. We’re done, you know.” Silas exhaled and chuckled, giving his friend a smile. “That was a hard fight, huh? It’s a good thing we had Iago here. I know that you don’t like him, but you have to admit that he’s pretty useful in battle, right?” 

Kamui did not respond. Her expression was blank and unchanging, her gaze staring out to a place where no man could reach. Her mouth was open slightly, but Silas couldn’t tell if she was even breathing. Still smiling, he raised an eyebrow. 

“Kamui? You okay?”

Silence.

Now with the corners of his mouth turned down, Silas began to move closer to her. “Hey, Kamui? You’re kind of freaking me—” He stopped his walking upon the tip of his boot making contact with something. It wasn’t stationery, as Silas could hear it roll away a moment later. Without giving a second thought, he looked down at the dirt only for his breath to be caught in his throat. 

Of course. This very spot is where he had seen it happen not fifteen minutes ago. Standing before Kamui, Hans had given a speech about the glory of Nohr and the thrill of war to the few remaining Chevois soldiers, all while holding a short haired blonde woman up by her hair. She was shouting profanities and struggling against him the entire time. From where he had been sitting atop Agro, Silas could tell that Kamui had wanted to say something, but held her tongue. She had a habit of doing that. Finally, at the end of his speech, Hans had raised his ax with one hand and done the unthinkable. 

Looking up at Kamui, that was when he noticed the streak of crimson on her pale white face. Her red eyes seemed darker somehow. Darker and empty. Silas forced his breakfast to stay down and shook his head, moving in front of Kamui. 

“Kamui…come on, say something,” he said in a breath.

The silence was eerie. 

“Kamui,” he repeated, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Kamui. You’re scaring me.” 

Despite Silas’ efforts, her expression was unchanging. She did not say a word. She did not move a muscle. Closing his eyes, Silas sighed before taking a deep breath and staring into hers. 

“I understand. I know that this a lot, trust me. Some people handle it better than others; it affects people at different levels. It doesn’t phase Peri, it gets to Laslow pretty bad, and even I’m not completely used to it yet. I’ve been a soldier for five years at this point and I still find it difficult to take a life. Sometimes I lie awake at night, haunted by the things I’ve done. I get it, Kamui, I really do. But…you can’t shut down like this. You’re our leader, and not only that, it’s not healthy. You can’t hold it all in like you do. So…come on. Let it out. It’s just you and me.” 

Silas noticed the slightest twitch of Kamui’s ears. Even in this shell shocked state, she was beautiful. As the seconds ticked by, the color returned to her eyes. Her lip began to quiver. Her body began to tremble and she started to breathe audibly again, though it was sporadic. All of these signs brought relief to Silas for a brief moment, only until he saw her make the face she always made when she was about to cry. He was used to it when they were kids, but had not seen it in years. Her pupils seemed to enlarge, her mouth shifted into a deep frown, and heavy tears filled her eyes. 

“A-ah…ah…” 

“Kamui?” 

There was a moment of silence before the princess stumbled forward and grabbed onto her night, the dam within her finally exploding and allowing the torrent to surge free. 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!” 

Kamui began to bawl, tears endlessly flowing down her face as she wrapped her arms around Silas and pressed her face into his chestplate. The metal was warm. Silas noticed that her feet were slipping, so he tightly hugged her back and held her up. 

“It’s okay,” he said, though his words were drowned out by her heavy crying. He doubted that her initial wail was heard by anyone but him due to their distance from everyone else, so he was perfectly content with her weeping as loud as she wanted. She needed it. She deserved it. “It’s okay, it’s okay…” 

Neither of them can remember how long they stood together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> War is fun, isn't it?


	15. The Empty King

With morning came mourning. 

The Nohrians had not truly achieved anything substantial. All that benefited them from the attack was that they suppressed yet another rebellion. It didn’t make a difference, really. It was not as if a few dozen rebels could ever hope to stand up to Nohr’s vast army, even with Scarlet’s leadership. 

Much to everyone’s relief, they were able to recover almost everyone that had been lost. Saizo and Orochi embraced, Hinata and Hana kissed, even Rinkah and Hayato joined hands. They were all safe, all except one.

To Corrin, Ryoma was one of the best fighters he had ever seen. He swung his sword without a second thought and called forth lightning as if it were nothing. He never let his emotions get the best of him, he thought logically, and was a generally grounded individual. However, Ryoma was also a man, and all men are susceptible to being overwhelmed by their emotions. 

After he put Shiro to bed for the night in a nursery that Lilith had conjured up, he walked off into the tall grass and did not come back. Those who resided on the outskirts of the area—namely Saizo and Orochi—said that they heard weeping in the middle of the night. 

It was truly a travesty. The woman who was set to be queen of Hoshido had given birth to a child and had not even gotten the opportunity to spend a month with him. After they were certain that the Nohrians were gone, they had all scattered around the battlefield desperately searching for something—_ anything. _ Azama was the one to find her, and even he found it difficult to break the news to everyone. Ryoma did not react. Instead, he simply nodded and said that they had to move on. 

“I think it only hit him when his responsibilities for the day were dealt with,” Rinkah suggested. A handful of the fighters were gathered around Corrin’s round table, which had a map of the land displayed on it. Currently, there was a small flag stuck in Cheve, a marker which Azura discretely removed. 

Sakura sniffled, holding back tears. “This is terrible…Scarlet…” 

“Now what?” Takumi asked, his arms crossed and his eyes concealed by his hair. “We’ve lost the entirety of the Chevois rebellion. It’s a miracle that we all made it through that, but we’re not completely unharmed.” 

Orochi pulled her black shawl down further, intently looking at the lower part of her arm to make sure that the burns were not visible. Next to her, Saizo put his arm around her and pulled her close. He was not an affectionate man, but he knew that Orochi needed it. 

Hayato’s arm was in a sling that Sakura constructed while his hand was in a cast. He had been attacked head on by a faceless and held out his arms to defend himself, which only resulted in one being crushed. 

Lastly, Oboro was wearing a temporary white eyepatch over her right eye. While Sakura and even Orochi had tried their hardest to heal it completely, they could not mend the nerve that had been severed by the slash of a sword, and as such she had lost usage of it. Azama had told her that it would certainly scar, which she seemed to actually look forward to. Despite her initial optimism, she now stood next to Takumi leaning against the wall with her face turned to a scowl. 

“Well…” Corrin began, tapping his fingers along the table’s edge. He stared at the map before him, his eyes running along the path that they had taken to get to Cheve as well as all of the landmarks they had gone to thus far. “We wait.” 

“What?” Hana asked, squinting. “What do you mean we wait? There’s no waiting in war.” 

“There’s plenty, actually, but that’s besides the point. Look, Hoshido is in no condition to make an attack right now. Ryoma is grieving and we’ve suffered a heavy loss. Some of us are injured.” Corrin placed his finger on Shirasagi and tapped it twice. “We should return to Shirasagi and collect ourselves there. You’ll all still be considered to be on active duty, but we won’t be making any big moves.” 

“Why?” Saizo asked in a gruff tone. “I understand that we’re not in the best position right now, but we shouldn’t stay idle. Nohr can’t be far from us right now. If we split off into small groups, we can ambush them and get the upper hand in the war.” 

Corrin shook his head and took a brief look at everyone present. “No. It’s too risky. With Iago among them…you all saw what he did.” 

“Then we take him out first.” Saizo slammed his fist into his open palm. “Setsuna could hit him from a distance. Then Kaze, Kagero or I can come out from the shadows and assassinate the king or your sister. After that—”

“No.” Corrin put firmly. “We’re not doing that; I refuse to put any one of you at risk. If Kamui or Camilla get a hold of you, you’re done. Killed right on the spot.” 

“So we’re just going to give up?!” Hana took a frustrated step towards Corrin. “That’s ridiculous! We have to keep fighting!” 

“We’re not giving up! We’re being smart about this!” Corrin shouted as he slammed his fist into the table. “If you want to desert the Hoshidan army and go to take on Nohr all by yourself, then fine! Be my guest! But I refuse to be the one responsible for your senseless deaths!” 

A heavy silence filled the room for the next several moments until Azura cleared her throat, placing both hands flat on the table. “I understand your frustrations. It makes sense that you would want to move forward with the fighting and end the war as soon as possible. However, that is not a tactically sound plan. If we were to pursue Nohr right now, it would be like a wounded animal attempting to attack its predator while it’s fleeing. I assure you, Corrin only has the best intentions in any decision that he may make.” 

Hana crossed her arms and grumbled, finally sighing. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I just want us to _ try_, you know?”

“Yes, but we must keep a level head,” Kaze chimed in. “Corrin, I accept your judgement.” 

Kagero spoke next. “We all live in Shirasagi or the surrounding area. Would we be returning home for the time being or will we continue to reside in the Astral Plane?” 

“I think that the Shirasagi residents can return home, but those who live elsewhere should remain within the city. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to make it so that you can see your families frequently. I’ll have to discuss this further with Yukimura, but what I have in mind is for you all is that you’ll essentially replace the current military police. That way you won’t just be sitting on your hands waiting for something to happen.” 

“So we stay active,” Hinata added, slowly nodding his head. “It’s not as if Shirasagi has a ton of crime, but it’s better than nothing.”

Corrin let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, propping his head up on his hand while his elbow rested on the table. This was all very stressful to him, but he knew that he had to plan for the future as opposed to only living day by day. He was a leader now, and that meant that difficult decisions had to be made.

“Are there any other objections to this course of action?” Corrin inquired. When he received no response, he gave a small smile and stood up straight. “Good. In that case, you’re all dismissed.” 

One by one his companions exited the room. He was never the best at reading people, though he was able to gauge a general reaction from the expressions of his friends as they left. People like Orochi and Subaki were relieved while Saizo and Rinkah were not too pleased. Felicia seemed more concerned about him than anything else and as usual, Azama had not a care in the world. Eventually, the only ones left were himself, Azura, and Kagero.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Corrin. I can tell what you’re thinking,” Azura advised.

The young man grimaced and looked down at his feet, tracing the tip of his boot against the hardwood floor. “Of course, I know you can. I understand that leaders need to make difficult decisions, and I’m okay with that. I have to be okay with that.” 

“You can confide in us, you know.” Azura put her hand on Corrin’s shoulder and gave a soft smile. “You are not alone.” 

Kagero smiled as well. “Azura is right. If you ever feel like talking about anything, anything at all, then I’ll always be there for you.” 

Azura raised a curious eyebrow and gave the ninja a sly smirk. “Will you now? My, Kagero, sometimes I forget that you’re supposed to be retainer to Ryoma and not Corrin.” 

While Corrin forced a slight chuckle, Kagero’s face began to burn and she pulled up her bright yellow scarf to hide her expression, turning her head so that the lock of hair that hung down over her eye concealed her whole face. “Of course I am still devoted to Lord Ryoma, but…the well being of his little brother is also important.” There was a moment of silence before she continued. “In addition to that, I consider Corrin to be a close ally of mine. This is no different than if Hinata were to give Hinoka his attention.” 

“I’m curious as to the kind of attention you have in mind, but I won’t ask.” Azura gave a mischievous smile and stepped back, walking towards the door. “I’m going to go catch up to Kaze. I’ll leave you two alone now. Toodle-oo!” 

Before either of the two could say anything, Azura was out of the room with the door shut behind her. Corrin cleared his throat and smoothed his hair back. “…Have you ever heard her say ‘toodle-oo’ before…?”

Kagero shook her head, her eyes still not meeting Corrin’s. “I can’t say that I have.”

Corrin could not think of anything to say in response and silently cursed Azura. He never took her for the scheming type, but Sakura had once told him that she liked to play pranks as a child. Apparently she never grew out of that. 

He subtly stepped to the side to get a glimpse of Kagero’s face. Her blush seemed to have only grown now that the two were alone, the red hue now overtaking the entirety of her face. To Corrin, she looked absolutely stunning. She moved her eyes to the side and caught a brief look of the satisfied expression on his face only to look away once more. Neither of the two spoke for what seemed like forever until Corrin gently moved Kagero’s hair aside, finally making clear her alluring visage. She bit her lip and stared at the floor.

“I am…waiting for you to kiss me.”

“I know,” Corrin responded. He took a step closer to her, both their hearts pounding in their chests. “But…we just suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the enemy. My brother is grieving his fallen wife. It would be inappropriate.” 

Kagero frowned. “I understand, you’re right. Forgive me, I—” She was cut off by Corrin wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. She was initially shocked from being suddenly embraced, but she soon found her mind to be put at ease by his comforting touch. She melted into him, resting her head against his chest. 

“For now, let us simply be together. The remainder of the war will be a difficult time for Hoshido, and…I want to spend that time with you by my side. Promise me you’ll always be there, Kagero.” 

The ninja gave a satisfied breath and a slow nod, raising her arms and wrapping them around Corrin. She closed her eyes and leaned into him further, listening to his beating heart. 

“Always.”

* * *

“I do not wish to talk about yesterday.”

Silas stared at the back of the princess of Nohr herself, Kamui. The undergarments she donned were black and made of lace, something that he found odd. He never took Kamui for someone to dress particularly sexy, especially since before last night, she had never shown her body to anyone but him and occasionally Corrin. 

Kamui slipped her leg into her bodysuit and paused, looking back at the knight lying in her bed. “I want to know that you heard me, Silas. Acknowledge what I said.” 

“I heard you. You don’t want to talk about last night, that’s fine.” He uncovered himself and stood, stretching his arms skyward with a yawn. As a knight, his body was incredibly well defined and hardened, though he still maintained a relatively light frame. On Kamui’s end, all of the fighting she had been doing had earned her some muscle in her arms and legs as well as barely visible abs, though anyone who took a quick glance at her would assume that she gained her shape from doing manual labour instead of training.

“Not just last night, you fool.” Kamui’s leg came forth from the opening meant for her thigh window and she rolled her eyes, proceeding to remove it and start the dressing process once more. “Everything. The battle, what happened during it, and what happened after. I want you to pretend that nothing happened yesterday. As far as you’re concerned, you’ve lost a day of your life. Can you do that for me?” 

Silas frowned and picked up the shirt that he had discarded the night before, a simple tight fitting sleeveless top made of black cotton. “My father always told me that a man’s time is all he has. You would want me to give up an entire day like that?” 

“If you’re going to be difficult, then think of it as not a request, but an order,” Kamui said in an assertive tone. She reached back and buttoned her bodysuit at the neck, pressing her lips together. “We’re marching today. You should put on armor.” 

The knight ignored her suggestion and approached her from behind, draping his arms over her and interlocking his fingers at her stomach. She tensed up at his touch but almost immediately relaxed. 

“You’re giving me orders outside of the battlefield? I know you’re my superior and all, but don’t you think that we’re past ranks at this point?” He smirked and placed a single, gentle kiss on her cheek. “Especially now that we’ve slept together.” 

“Stop it.” Kamui shrugged him off and stepped away, scanning the floor for her waistguard. “You’re being childish.” 

“You know, I had my suspicions that were a lesbian and were just pretending to like men to save face, but I guess I was wrong.” 

Kamui stopped moving and drew in a sharp breath. Silas took note of her body language and his smile slowly faded away. He thought that perhaps he had gone too far. 

“How do you do that?” the princess asked.

Silas blinked. “Do what?” 

Kamui quickly turned to face him, gritting her teeth with tears welling in her eyes. “One moment you are kind and gentle and loving, but the next moment you tease me like a schoolboy with a crush. It’s as if you’re two completely different people depending on your mood, and I’m sick of it. Gods, Silas, what is the matter with you?” 

Immediately, a wave of guilt washed over the young knight. “Gods, sorry.” He quickly approached her and put his hands on her shoulder, looking down into her scarlet eyes. “I was only joking, I didn’t mean to actually make you feel bad. You know I’d never say anything to hurt you, right?” 

Blinking away her tears, Kamui brushed his hands aside and turned away, then picking up the waistguard at her feet. “Silas, I want you to know that last night meant nothing to me. I was vulnerable, I needed companionship, and you were there. That’s all. Don’t think too much into it, lest your ego grow even larger than it already is.” 

Silas cocked his head to the side; he wasn’t convinced. He could not believe that after sharing an incredibly intimate moment with him that she would invite him back to her bed when it meant nothing to her. Though, it was not as if anything scandalous took place. In reality, Silas had walked with her to catch up to the rest of their party and issued an order on her behalf that they would rest for the night. Hans had protested, but Garon acquiesced to Silas’ order and after Kamui opened the portal, everyone went off to bed. 

Once the two were alone once again, Silas had walked Kamui back to her home whilst consoling her the whole way. When they were near her bed, she slowly stripped herself of her armor, weakly crawled into bed, and asked him to stay with her for the night. As her friend as well as as a knight, he obliged without protest and slept with her. 

Truthfully, Silas had half expected her to try and have sex with him, but nothing of the sort occurred. As far as he knew, she was a virgin, and it would have been odd for her to give that up after such a traumatic experience. It was the way she put her arm over him and cuddled him in bed that convinced him that something was to occur, but nothing ever came. He gave up on the very idea once he felt her body cease its trembling and stopped hearing the occasional sniffles, indicating that she had drifted asleep. 

Regardless of the fact that nothing happened between them, Silas still felt far closer to her than he had before. After all, a knight sharing a bed with a princess is nothing to scoff at. To him, it meant something. Perhaps she was being truthful in that she thought nothing of it, but that ultimately did not matter. 

“Daughter!” 

Kamui jumped in surprise and immediately turned her head to the window. She scurried over to peek out and spotted her father standing at the tree’s base directly on the sigil, Iago at his side as usual. Kamui bit down on her tongue and marched over to Silas, beginning to shove him away.

“H-hey! I can walk, you know!” 

By the time he finished talking he was already in the closet. Kamui put her finger to her mouth and glared daggers at him. 

“Not. A. Peep.” She shut the door in his face before he could respond, then running around her room to collect her armor pieces and haphazardly putting them off before sitting at her vanity and quickly brushing her hair. It was still frazzled after a few strokes, but she tossed the brush aside and frantically ran over to the sigil on the floor, touching her finger to the outer ring. 

In a flash of light, her father and his right hand man appeared in her room. Iago wore a sly smile while Garon seemed to be giving a genuine one. The larger man stepped forward and put his hand atop his daughter’s head. 

“I did not get the chance to say this yesterday, so I will say it now. Excellent work on the battlefield, Kamui. While it may have been Iago’s spell that wiped the enemy out, your leadership paved the way for us to obtain the upper hand. You’ve grown into a wonderful woman and an even better general. Congratulations.” 

Kamui cracked a small smile, blushing. Her father’s praise always made her feel happy. “Thank you, Father. I appreciate your gratitude.” 

“Of course. I only wish I could have said this to you before we returned to this place. Tell me, why were you so vexed when that knight took you to us?” Garon asked. “You didn’t speak a word and even struggled opening the gateway to this plane.” 

The princess grabbed one hand with the other to stop her trembling and forced herself to maintain her smile. She couldn’t tell him the whole truth of course—she didn’t want to seem like a weak little girl who broke down over the death of one person—so she went with a half truth. 

“Well, to be honest…forgive me, but I’m just not quite used to the reality of battle yet. I can do what has to be done, but still. Seeing all of those people suffering, burning to death, screaming…it is rather macabre, don’t you think? I couldn’t help but feel a little dreadful.”

Iago scoffed. “Really? Come now, Kamui. How do you expect to lead an army if you lose your nerve over a thing such as that?”

“Now now, Iago.” Garon removed his hand from his daughter’s head and placed it at his side. “She’s still young. She only fought her first battle a handful of weeks ago. Allow her ample time to get used to things.” 

The king walked over to a chair that Kamui had set by her bed and sat down, huffing as he did. “These bones have gotten old…Kamui, you may not be of my blood, but you certainly have my heart. I was a cowardly fighter when I first took up the sword in the name of Nohr. Your grandfather wanted me to defend our kingdom against invaders just like he and his father before him had done. However, I was not the prodigy he wanted me to be. After my first battle, I was demoted from commander to just another soldier. I simply couldn’t handle all of the blood and killing. Over time, however, I grew numb to it. Once I no longer feared the smell of blood, my skill as a soldier increased tenfold and I regained my position in no time. Now, fear not. I won’t demote you—you’ve proven yourself much too capable for that. Simply heed my words and take your time. I’m sure that you’ll get used to it in no time.” 

Kamui couldn’t help but frown. She wanted to reject his words, but really, he was right. Her first battle without Corrin had made her vomit, but she had been getting used to seeing corpses lying around a battlefield. She was having an easier time taking the lives of her enemies as well. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. 

“Yes, Father. I promise you that these feelings will be gone soon. I can’t let my emotions get in the way of my leadership.” 

Garon nodded proudly. “Just as I taught you, good.” The old man turned his head to look out the window, staring up at the clouds. “I only wish that your brother could have been by your side fighting with you. It’s a shame that he turned traitor.”

“On that note, your majesty,” Iago chimed in. “After the battle last night, why did we not pursue the Hoshidans? I had been under the impression that we had intended to capture Corrin, but you let him go without a second thought. Might I ask why?”

The king waved the question off. “It would have been a hassle wading through all the corpses as well as his companions just to get to him. Worry not, Iago. He’ll be ours once again in due time.” 

“Um,” Kamui bit her lip and held her hands behind her back, a single bead of nervous sweat rolling down her forehead as her heart rate began to gradually increase. “Once we _ do _ capture him, what do you plan on doing with him? That is, what will his punishment be?” 

Garon put it plainly. “Why, kill him, of course.” 

Immediately, the color drained from her face and her hands began to shake. She had the urge to grab her sword right then and there. Iago could warp away whenever he pleased, but Garon was trapped in the room for as long as she wished for him to be there. She could take hold of the Yato and quickly dispatch the mage and then attack her father, who had no apparent need for a weapon in the home of his own daughter. Better yet, she could call for Silas to attack Iago from inside of the closet and then take care of Garon right away. 

_ What am I thinking? _ She bit down on her tongue and squeezed her hands together. _ I can’t kill my own father! That makes me no better than Corrin! _

Kamui could not assassinate a king in her own home, let alone her father, but she also could not let them kill Corrin. Regardless of his loyalty, he was still her brother. She wished to fight and defeat him herself, but…she did not want him dead. She did, however, want him kneeling before her with her sword at his throat. He was still a traitor, and he had to answer for that one way or another. 

The young princess was abruptly jerked out of her own head by the next words her father spoke. “Would you like to do it?” 

She blinked once, unsure of exactly what he was asking. “My apologies, but…what do you mean?” 

“Would you like to be the one to put an end to his life?” Garon asked. “It would be fitting. You two grew up together and in the end, he made the wrong decision and committed the ultimate act of betrayal. I’m sure he would kill you if you got the chance, so you should feel no remorse about doing the same to him. I _ should _do it myself as king, but I want to give my daughter a chance to enact her retribution. Do you have an answer for me?”

With her throat tight and dry, Kamui shuffled where she stood and scratched at the back of her hand. “I’m not entirely sure right now, Father. May I answer at a later date?” 

“Of course you can. We’re in no rush.” 

Iago put his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, tapping his foot on the outer ring of the sigil on the floor. “I do not wish to rush you, my lord, but remember we said we would discuss the future with Hans this morning. Shall we be going?” 

“Yes, yes.” Garon placed his hands on the armrests of the chair and huffed as he pushed himself up, then making his way to Iago’s side. “Kamui, we’ll be marching in about an hour. Our current plan is to arrive back in Cyrkensia and then take a boat directly back to Krakenburg. Once there, we’ll hold a war council meeting with the other generals of the army to discuss plans for the future. I’ll tell you now that they’re all men much older than you, so try not to be intimidated.”

Kamui was almost certain that she could face any one of those in a duel and emerge victorious, but she knew better than to say so in front of either her father or Iago. “Yes, Father. We’ll be ready to march within the hour. I will see you then.” 

Both the king and his advisor nodded at Kamui, though Iago’s expression was much more annoyed. Taking great pleasure in banishing him from her presence, Kamui knelt down and touched her fingertips to the sigil and left herself once again with Silas. She let out a deep breath and knelt in silence for a few moments before Silas came stepping out of the closet with a very irked look on his face.

“Gods, why do you have so many dresses? You don’t even wear any of them!” He closed the closet door behind him and walked over to Kamui’s side. “Your dad seems a lot nicer than the last time I talked to him. Iago is still an ass, though.”

“Did you hear him?” Kamui asked, ignoring his comments. “We’re marching. Like I told you. Get your armor on.” 

With a heavy groan, Silas gathered his armor pieces from the ground and shuffled over to the dragon vein sigil. “Yeah, I’ve got you. Do you mind sending me out of here?”

The princess knelt down once more and gave her knight a hard and serious look, staring him directly in his green eyes. “Remember. Not a peep about any of this. Not the events of yesterday, not the events of last night, not my father’s visit. If you disobey, I’ll have your head on a pike. Got it?” 

“You are way too worried about this stuff, but yes, I’ve got it.” 

“Good.” Kamui sent him away at once as he rolled his eyes. Finally, she was alone. She still had plenty of time before they were scheduled to leave the Astral Plane and begin marching, so she stepped over to her bed and threw herself onto it, smothering her face in her pillow. It was miraculously dry; she figured that it would have been damp with either tears or drool or perhaps both. 

Rolling over, Kamui stared at the ceiling with a frown and dark eyes. She tried to push the thoughts out of her head, but always seemed to fail. The sound of that woman screaming as her final sound she made and the sight of Hans’ ax cutting through her neck and severing her head from her body would forever be etched into her mind. The way her body stood without a head for a moment before crumbling lifelessly to the ground…Kamui felt bile rising in her throat and forced it down. She was finding it easier not to get physically sick over these things, but the thought of it all haunted her still. Who was she? Did she have a family? Why was she fighting? What was even her _ name?_ She was the leader no doubt—Hans would not have made an example of her had she just been a random soldier—so how did she come to attain that position? The fact that she would never know did not sit quite right with Kamui and only made her feel even worse.

Every soldier that she had ever killed had a life. They weren’t just a nameless body in a uniform, they were people. They were people with families, friends, loved ones, aspirations. The first time that she had ever thought about this was when she spared Yuzu in front of the Sevenfold Sanctuary weeks ago, but she felt as if she had shoved those thoughts aside in order to perform better in battle. All of those corpses that had once been people that were burned by Iago’s final attack had people that were waiting for them to come home who would never see them again, and if they did, all they would get would be an unrecognizable charred husk of a human body.

Kamui had thought that she had cried herself dry, but apparently she was wrong.

* * *

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Days later, Kamui was pulled into a warm hug from her older brother in the halls of Castle Krakenburg. It had been so long since she had stepped foot into the castle that she had almost forgotten how at home she felt within its walls and how at home she felt within Xander’s arms. Once the two stopped hugging, he went to hug Camilla and Kamui took Leo into her embrace. 

“Yes, it has. I’ve been making quite the progress in my studies, if you’re wondering. I can cast most of the spells I’ve learned without even having their tome! Impressive, isn’t it?” Leo put on a smug expression and waited to receive praise from his siblings, but was utterly disappointed when none came.

“Have you gotten taller?” Camilla asked, placing her hand flat on Leo’s head. “I feel like you’ve gotten taller. Oh, my baby brother is getting bigger and bigger by the day. Soon you’ll be taller than me! Can’t you just stay this height forever?” 

Kamui snickered. She and Leo were practically the same height, but he was ever so slightly taller. The aforementioned mage crossed his arms. 

“Absolutely not! I’m a growing boy, after all.” 

“But for how much longer?” Elise asked with a giggle. 

Xander held up his hand and shook his head, trying not to laugh. “Now now, let’s not tease him. We’ve only just reunited and already we’re getting on Leo’s case. It’s just like when we were kids, isn’t it?” The eldest child began to walk forward and beckoned for his younger siblings to follow. “So, tell us. What have you been up to since we’ve seen you last?” 

“Ooh ooh, I’ll answer!” Elise volunteered. “We went to the Sevenfold Sanctuary in Notre Sagesse, we met the Rainbow Sage—he died, though—and then we went to go see a singer in the Cyrkensia Opera House! But uh…we never got to see anyone sing. It was a trap, I think. Corrin and his soldiers were there. He tried to assassinate Father…in the end, we wound up leaving on our own.” 

Xander’s expression darkened, as did Leo’s. “So you fought Corrin, did you…”

“No,” Kamui blurted out. “That is, Elise didn’t. Neither did Camilla. I had Jakob protect Elise and had Camilla escort Father to safety. Azura…they had us under some sort of illusion spell. She sang a song that made Father ill. He wasn’t the only one affected—a few people in the audience were, too. I assume that it was magic. Leo, do you know anything about that?”

Shaking his head, the scholar let out a disappointed sigh. “No, I can’t say that I do. If I were to take a guess, I would say that whatever type of magic it was targeted something specific about someone and affected them based on that. Did the audience members have anything in common that you noticed?” 

Kamui placed her finger on her chin and thought for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I can’t say that I do.”

“Then it likely was looking for something that isn’t immediately apparent. Maybe something about their past or…well, if they have darkness in their heart.” 

Camilla frowned. “Why would you suggest that?” 

“Oh come now, Sister. We all know that Father isn’t the most noble or valiant man; I’m only pointing out a possibility.” 

“Father is fine!” Kamui interjected. “Recently, he’s been much more kind than he used to be. He treats me like I’m one of you now—like I’m his own blood. He talks to me like a normal father would his daughter. I’m not saying that he’s a completely changed man, but…he’s turning over a new leaf.”

Leo shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” He gestured to his blood siblings and smirked. “I know that you three don’t like it when I badmouth Father, but I didn’t expect Kamui to join you. Let’s see if I get ganged up on even more now.” 

“Leo, you know we’re only teasing you.” Xander gave a reassuring smile to his brother and shook his head. “We don’t mean any harm by it. If it genuinely hurts you, then we’ll stop. We’re not cruel.” 

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Leo said as he waved it off. “You all take pleasure in it, so by all means carry on.” 

They could all tell that the young boy was not truly fine, but they thought it best not to pry any further. After walking for a minute or two more, they finally arrived at the doors of Castle Krakenburg’s throne room. Kamui naturally tensed up, as something good rarely happened whenever she stood before the double doors. 

“I wonder why he called all of us here,” Elise said. “Hm…now that we’ve had a pretty major victory in the war, he wants to brief us on the next steps? Ooh! Xander, Leo, maybe he’s going to let you two fight with us now!” 

The eldest son gave a chuckle, knocking twice on the door. “We’ll see, Elise.” 

“Enter.” Garon’s voice sounded from past the doors. Kamui did not like the tone of his speaking. In the one word that left his mouth, she sensed that he was extremely tired. Garon was not a very kind man when he was tired.

Xander pushed through the doors and wiped his smile from his face. He was greeting his father, after all, and had to show proper etiquette. The rest of the children did the same, walking down the carpeted red path and standing before the throne. Garon rested his head on his hand, propped up on the armrest. His eyes were low and his mouth partially open, his breathing slow and heavy. Next to him stood Iago, a small smile on his face. Kamui looked concerned and tilted her head. 

“Father? Are you alright? You don’t appear to be well.”

The king did not answer. Instead, he gave his children a weak smile. “You are each so strong. I want you to know that I am proud of you.” He spoke slowly, every word taking a bit of effort. The siblings frowned at each other, clearly sensing that something was wrong. The king grunted and groaned as he forced himself to stand, taking a small step forward towards his children. 

“Xander, my firstborn. You are one of the finest fighters I have ever come across. You are strong and passionate, qualities that any ruler must have in order to succeed. You will make a fine king one day.”

He turned to Camilla, who clasped her hands together over her chest. “Camilla, loving and motherly Camilla. You are a fearsome warrior and yet such a tender sister. I want you to take care of your brothers and sisters for me.”

Next up was Kamui, who began to anxiously grind her teeth. “Oh, Kamui. How I wish I was better to you. It was wrong of me to seal both you and Corrin away in the fortress for so long. It was wrong of me to steal you away. But I do not regret doing so. I would not know you and you would not be the person you are not if I had not. You have grown so much, and I am very proud of you. Win this war for Nohr.”

Then came Leo, who refused to meet his father’s eyes. He was not used to such praise and loathed waiting to receive it. “Leo, I believe that you have worked harder than anyone else to get where you are. You are an admirable mage and a man deserving of respect. Know that you are much better than you believe yourself to be.”

Finally there was Elise, who Garon sighed upon coming to. “Sweet Elise. The kindest heart in the country and I’ve squandered it making you fight a war. I implore you to continue to use your natural talents to heal those in need, and maintain your positivity for everyone’s sake.”

Elise bit her lip and kicked at the carpet nervously. “Thank you, Father, but I’m not sure I understand. Why are you telling us this now?” 

“Can a father not praise his children simply because he wishes to?” Iago asked with a snicker. “You should be grateful, little girl. It’s not often the king gives out compliments.” 

A sense of uneasiness came over Kamui as her father stepped back and returned to sit on his throne, slowly closing his eyes. “I put my trust in you all to ensure that our country prospers. I lo—” The king suddenly jerked straight up and his eyes snapped open, his mouth hanging low. His children all stared frozen in awe as the whites of his eyes glazed over black like a bowl being filled with ink. 

Xander managed to pull his attention away from his father long enough to catch Iago with a pleased smile, his hand raised stiffly in the air. “Iago! What is the meaning of this?!” he shouted, stomping towards the mage. With a snap of Iago’s fingers, the man was suddenly forced back and flew through the air briefly before sliding across the carpet, his cape being torn up in the process.

“Oh, only getting what should have been mine in the first place. Watch it now, Xander. I’d rather not kill any of you, but I will not hesitate if you force my hand.” 

“Stop this at once! This is treason!” Camilla barked with an enraged look on her face. “How dare you use your magic on the king? I’ll have your head for this!” 

“U-unhand my father right this instant!” Kamui quickly drew her sword and wrapped her hands tightly around the hilt, aiming it at Iago. Her entire body was trembling, evident by the way the tip of the Yato was pointing in a different direction every second. 

Iago gave a hearty guffaw and smiled sinisterly at the girl, shaking his head. “Oh, Kamui, you foolish little girl. Your father is no longer with us. What you just witnessed were his last moments—how tragic! What you’re seeing now is nothing but an empty vessel. Now, feast your eyes upon his true form!” 

A morbid groan escaped Garon’s mouth as his muscles relaxed, his arms going slack and his head hanging to the side. He was _ too _relaxed. His youngest daughter stared in horror and screamed as his flesh seemed to melt off of his body, turning into a sickly grey slime-like substance that eventually made up his entire being. His cloak slipped off of his shoulders and his crown sank into his head as several thin openings appeared in the area that used to be his chest, a bright red glow peering through them and moving around randomly. The monster that was once the king weakly raised his arm and stared Kamui directly in her eyes, heavy droplets of sludge dripping from his fingertips. Where his eyes would be were instead a pair of small, glowing violet dots.

Kamui’s legs gave out and she fell to her knees, still pointing the Yato at Iago. “N-no…change him back…what did you do?” 

Gritting her teeth, Camilla turned towards the door and began to sprint towards it only to have it slam shut when Iago snapped his fingers. She tried and tried to get it to open, but to no avail. 

“They won’t open! We’re stuck!” 

“Father!” Elise cried, reaching out to the monster before her. 

Xander rose to his feet and drew Siegfried from its scabbard, aiming the blade at Iago. “Die!” he shouted. From the tip of the sword, a sinister looking beam of what appeared to be a dark purple aura shot straight out and towards Nohr’s grandmaster. Iago simply swatted the attack away and redirected it into a pillar, causing it to dissipate upon contact.

“Illusion magic,” Leo told himself in a hushed tone. “It must be. Father can’t…” 

“I’d love to stay to watch this, but I wouldn’t want you to focus your attention on little old me. Have fun dealing with dear old dad, now!” Iago turned his head towards the beast and his smile fading, shifting into a dark scowl. “Kill them.” 

Iago vanished in a puff of purple smoke as the beast closed its liquid fists and roared in a guttural tone, screaming towards the ceiling. From its arm emerged Bölverk, Garon’s ax. The weapon had a long handle pointed with a gold tip and the blade resembled the fin of a sea serpent, the sharp edges being plated in gold while the rest of the blade was a dark onyx. Instead of walking, the monster simply leaned forward and advanced, leaving a trail of its sludge behind. 

“Kamui, come on!” Xander grabbed his sister by her underarm and pulled her to her feet, making sure that she was standing before letting go. “Sister, you have to focus! It’s life or death here!” 

“B-but…Father is—”

“He’s gone!” Xander shouted. “Didn’t you hear Iago? That’s not our father anymore! Now go!” He shoved her to the side as the beast slammed its ax down, embedding the blade into the stone floor before removing it with ease. 

After squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head in a panic, Camilla ran over to Elise and took her by the shoulders to pull her as far from the monster as she could. “Elise, we have to stay safe. I don’t have any weapons; I can’t fight. Don’t let it touch you, okay?” 

Instead of giving a verbal response, the young princess simply looked up at her big sister with tears in her eyes, sniveling before giving a nod and running to the wall with her. Witnessing this, Leo grinded his teeth in anger and charged his hands with lightning. 

“Begone, monster!” he cried as he extended his arm out. The electricity jumped from his fingertips to the beast’s body, but seemingly had no effect aside from agitating it even further. It extended its free hand and suddenly its arm extended out, the massive open palm slamming into Leo and forcing him into the wall. 

“Leo!” Kamui looked to her little brother before looking back to the monster, shaking her head. How had this happened so quickly? Not two minutes ago she was smiling with her siblings, and now she was supposed to fight the being that was once her father. _ You can’t choke now, Kamui. If you do, you die. They die. You have to fight. _

With rage in her eyes, Kamui let out a war cry and rushed towards the monster with her blade at the ready. She raised her weapon and swung it forward as she ran past it, cutting clean though its body. Looking back, she was shocked to find that she had only succeeded in slicing through its liquid form and had not actually damaged it at all. The red glowing sphere within its body spun in circles, seeming to taunt her. 

“Hyah!” Xander attacked next, delivering several diagonal slashes to the monster with the light dodging each of them. Once again, there was no effect. The beast raised its ax and brought it down heavy, landing a direct hit and cutting through Xander’s armor. The prince shouted in pain and fell to the ground, dropping his weapon weakly. 

“Xander!!!” Elise immediately sprinted towards her brother and slid across the carpet to his side, beginning to heal him despite the monster being right before her. Kamui knew that she had to get the attention off of Elise, so she shouted to distract it.

“Hey! I’m not done with you yet!” she shouted with confidence, her red eyes burning with passion. Turning its neck at an unnatural angle, the miscreation leaned forward and began to quickly rush towards Kamui with its ax raised. Her eyes glinted briefly and her wings sprouted from her back, wrapping around her body to protect her. She winced in pain as the sharp blade cut through the membrane of her wings, but forced herself through it and pulled them back before grabbing the ax’s handle close to the blade and jerking her arm backwards, managing to free it from the monster’s grasp. The weight of the ax and the way she was holding it was too much for her to handle, however, and she ended up falling down. 

Miraculously, Camilla appeared at her side and picked the weapon up with ease, then pulling Kamui up. “Our attacks aren’t doing anything to him!” 

“I can see that.” Camilla pressed her lips together and stared at the monster, who stood still now that it was disarmed. Xander rose behind him and Leo arrived at his side moments later. Now with adversaries both in front of and behind it, it slowly raised its arm in the air before beginning to expel its own body, covering the area around it in sludge. The siblings managed to avoid being covered in it, as they knew that that would significantly slow down their movement. 

Leo manifested a large spike of ice in the air and sent it flying forward through the creature’s body. It would have made direct contact with the glowing light in its body had it not moved out of the way at the last second. 

“I’m certain of it. It’s the light. You all see the circle in its chest, right?” Kamui asked, her siblings nodding in response. “It hasn’t been touched once; it moves out of the way any time we get close. Try and damage it. That may be the only way to hurt it.” 

“Right.” Xander responded. Him and Camilla both bolted towards the mired monster and swung their weapons at once. The light moved out of the way to avoid Xander’s slash and had to immediately adjust its position in order to not be struck by Camilla. Leo sent a bolt of lightning through the monster’s chest and managed to strike the red orb, causing the beast to cry out in pain. Its yelling was loud enough that Elise had to cover her ears for the duration, only lowering her hands when Kamui tapped her on the shoulder. 

“Excellent work, Leo!” Xander called as he continued his onslaught of sword slashes. “Kamui, assist us!” 

“I’m on it!” Kamui pat Elise’s back twice before kicking off of the floor and took several long strides towards the creature, spinning on her heel to cut through its body and then transforming her arm into a lance, giving another slash. 

Camilla was knocked to the ground when the monster slammed its arm into her back, then turning its attention to Kamui and Xander. The siblings dashed back to avoid the swinging arms of the beast and paused to catch their breath. Kamui was about to dive in and attack once more when Xander drew in a sharp breath, loud enough to get her attention.

“Your sword…” he said in awe, his brow furrowed and his eyes focused on the blade in Kamui’s hand. The princess looked down at her hand and her eyes widened upon seeing the white glow emitting from it. She then noticed that the very same glow was coming from Siegfried. 

“What’s happening?” Elise asked, moving closer to her siblings along with Leo. “Why are their swords—” 

Elise’s final words were drowned out as a loud piercing sound reverberated throughout the area out the light flashed, temporarily blinding those present. When the sound died down and the light faded, Xander looked at Siegfried and found it unchanged. Kamui, however, now held a new blade in her hand.

The blade of the Yato was now much wider, as was the crossguard. A dim purple light now surrounded the blade’s edge and the bottom indentation on the blade was filled with a small gem of the same hue. Kamui’s eyes squinted at this new development. 

“What is…?” 

“The Grim Yato.” Leo moved his hair out of his eyes and stared at the blade, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. “When the Yato is in the presence of another weapon forged by the First Dragons, it has the potential to transform into another state…I’ll explain everything later. Let us keep fighting!” 

Now with a new weapon at her whim, Kamui was fired up and fully prepared to carry on her assault on the creature that was once her father. “Grah!” she cried, lunging forward and stabbing into its liquid body. Xander followed suit, using the length of Siegfried to maintain his distance as he attacked. Anytime there wasn’t a blade in the monster’s chest, Camilla swung forth her father’s ax in an attempt to hit its life source. The light’s movements grew smaller and more precise in scale, as it was no longer able to move around freely without being hit. 

From beneath the velveteen carpet sprouted a small tree with sharp branches, tiny twigs with equally tiny leaves sticking out from it. The tree sprouted directly beneath the monster, who roared as its dripping sludge was spattered across the ground. It reconstructed itself immediately, however, each droplet coming together to reform the monster in all its glory. 

Camilla raised her weapon high and prepared to swing down, but was stopped suddenly when the beast’s arm elongated and its hand wrapped around her neck. The heavy ax fell from her grip and to the ground with a loud _ clang _as she was raised high in the air, the monster’s hold on her tightening. 

“No!” Xander began to frantically swing his blade in a panic, the normally composed man now desperate to release his sister from the grasp of an abomination. “Unhand her, foul miscreation!” 

Kamui took a split second to take the situation in and time seemed to slow down. Xander’s slashing, the kicking of Camilla’s legs, Elise running towards them—they all appeared to be happening in slow motion. Right then and there, she knew what she had to do. 

“Xander, move!” The young princess sheathed the Grim Yato and took hold of her left arm, raising it in the air as her eye glinted. Scales spiraled down her arm and her hand was transformed into a giant black maw with jagged razor sharp teeth. Xander put his trust in his little sister and dived to the right, giving her enough room to shove her arm forward with the maw wide before snapping down, taking a large portion of the monster’s body with it. 

When Kamui returned her arm to its original state, she found herself to be holding a small glowing red orb. It was warm and wet, remnants of the grey sludge still desperately clinging to it. Looking up, Kamui found that the monster had released Camilla and was now slowly losing its form. It was now evident that the orb was what held the mire together, and now that it had been removed, the monster was falling apart. 

It weakly outstretched its arm towards Kamui and gave a pathetic groan, like the mewl of a dying cat. As the pieces of its body fell to the ground and instantly evaporated, it grew smaller and smaller until eventually came to no longer be. When all was said and done, all that remained of the monster was the orb and the king’s crown. 

Camilla coughed and rubbed the reddened area of her neck, wistfully looking to the crown on the floor. “It…it’s over, isn’t it?” 

With solemn countenance, Xander helped Camilla to her feet and slowly nodded. “I believe it is, Sister. It seems that our father is—”

Xander’s words were interrupted by the sound of slow clapping. Each of the siblings turned their attention to Garon’s throne, where Iago sat with his legs crossed and an amused expression upon his pale face. “Why, bravo, children! Truthfully, that’s exactly what I expected of you. Why, I’d be rather disappointed if the four of you were not able to kill something as weak as an empty vessel. It also would have proved problematic for me if I had to explain exactly what happened to one or more of the former king’s children, so I thank you for your effort.” 

“You killed our father!” Kamui screamed, drawing the Grim Yato once more and stepping towards him. “You’ll die for this, Iago!” 

“Ooh, I wouldn’t get close if I were you!” The mage wagged his finger and chuckled. “You saw what I did to your brother earlier, didn’t you? Know that I’m not afraid to do a bit of damage, girlie. Just be a good little princess; stand there and listen.” 

Kamui tightly clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms and threatening to draw blood. She wanted to lunge at him and rip him limb from limb, she wanted him to feel the most intense pain imaginable, she wanted to eviscerate his very essence. Unfortunately, she knew that she would not be successful if she were to try. Instead, she contented herself to verbal attacks.

“Off the throne, jester,” she said through tightly gritted teeth. “The king sits there.” 

“How witty! But I’m afraid that there no longer _ is _a king, is there?” 

“What are you on about, fool?” Xander asked, stepping forward. “If my father is no longer with us, then I am automatically appointed as the king of Nohr. As for my first decree, you can be sure that I’ll put you to a hasty execution.” 

Iago’s smile shifted from one of amusement to one of smugness. “Will you now? Well, before you do that, I implore you to take a gander at this for just a moment.” With a flourish of his hand, purple flames appeared before him and from them came a large document with the official seal of Nohr stamped onto it. Iago sent it forward to the siblings with confidence.

Elise took hold of the document when it reached her and Leo began to read it aloud. “...To the people of Nohr, the leaders of all other nations, and my children, I, Garon II of House Disendra, in the event of my passing hereby bestow upon my grandmaster tactician and close friend, Iago of House Desdemona, the royal crown and with it the title of King of Nohr.” 

A heavy silence hung in the air for several moments before it was broken by Elise. “You…you forged this! It’s fake! Father would never do something like this! What’s stopping us from tearing this up right now?!”

“Aha!” Iago loudly laughed, leaning forward and covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “I assure you it’s real, little one. Feel free to rip it to pieces, there have already been several copies made. The High Council of Nohr has known about this for weeks anyway, so it’s not as if it matters.”

“How could you ever get him to write something like this…?” Camilla inquired in a breath. “It must have been a spell. You tricked him or, or something! If he were in his right mind, he never would have written this!” 

Iago waved the question off and rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t mind the details now, Camilla. All that matters now is that I have finally obtained the position I’ve deserved all along. King!” He raised his arms high in the air and gave a joyous laugh once more. “Me, Iago, king! Ah, it’s such a wonderful feeling!”

“We’ll tell people!” Leo spat. “We’ll tell every last soul in the country what you did— what we had to do! Don’t think that this will last!” 

“Tell people?” Iago repeated. “Do you not realize how worthless you are now? You’re all the old king’s children! Three of you born of whores, one of the former queen, and the last is not even of Nohrian blood! Do you sincerely think that the people of this country care about you? Now, it would look bad of me to kill you all so soon, but if you were committing treason…well now, that’s another story.” 

Kamui opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. Once again, she was unable to speak out. She couldn’t tell anyone of Hans’ actions at the Bottomless Canyon nor could she tell anyone the truth behind her father’s murder. Here she was, standing powerless once again. 

“Oh? No response? Excellent! You all understand!” Iago gave a joyous clap and stood, flourishing his hand once more. The holes, cracks, and dents that had been created in the throne room mended themselves at once. Then, he stared directly into Xander’s eyes with a victorious yet devious smile as he drew the Nohrian crown towards him. All hope within Elise’s heart was lost and Leo despairingly tracked the crown as it floated towards Iago. Camilla had to use all of her willpower in order to force herself to not chuck the ax in her hand at him with all of her might when it came to sit atop his head. 

“Now this, _ this _feels good.” Iago snickered. “Now then, children. I’m off to inform the High Council of the former king’s untimely demise. Worry not, I already have a story in mind and I possess ways to procure a body. All you five must do is corroborate whatever I say and we won’t have an issue. Do I make myself clear?”

“You’re going to die.” Xander declared with more confidence than anyone could have ever hoped to speak with. “Whether it be by my blade, Kamui’s sword, Camilla’s ax or Leo’s book, you, Iago, are going to die. For years upon years you’ve done everything in your power to make things difficult for us. You’ve fed our father false information, you’re the one that sent Kamui to the Ice Tribe where she nearly froze to death, and you…” He looked to his sister with apologetic eyes before turning back to Iago. “You are the one who stole her memories away. You are a horrible, wretched creature, and your death _ will _come swiftly.” 

Iago’s smile faded and was replaced with a look of disgust, though he simply shook his head and sighed. “Oh, Xander. Hubris. That will be your downfall, little prince. I bid each of you farewell, and a good night. Expect to attend a funeral in the next few days, followed by a coronation. Don’t mess anything up. It will only mean your heads.” 

With a final flourish, the mage disappeared in an inferno of purple flame. Kamui felt her knees begin to wobble and her legs threatened to give out under her, but her trembling was halted by Xander’s hand on her shoulder. Camilla put her arm around Kamui’s shoulders and Leo stepped forward as well, wrapping his arms around his siblings. Finally, Elise did her best to hug as many of her siblings as she could, more tears welling in her eyes. 

“We’ll put an end to this,” Leo said. “Together. The five of us.” 

“I’m sure of it. We’re all strong. Somehow, someway, we’ll fix this. We’ll put Xander rightfully on his throne and everything will work out just fine.” Camilla nodded as she spoke, her lip quivering. 

Kamui closed her eyes and prepared to cry, but nothing came. She did not have any thoughts on her lack of tears. There was not much that she cared about at that moment. At this point, she had no more tears left to cry.

“Let us pray that fate wills it so.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends Part I of If Fate Wills it So. I truly do hope that everyone that's been reading has been enjoying their time with this story so far. It's something I've put a lot time into over the years, and while it's certainly not perfect, I'm happy with it if I can give a couple people some joy. 
> 
> Now, let's give a little background real fast, shall we? I started writing this story in mid 2016 on a whim just because I wanted to adapt Fire Emblem Fates, a game that I loved at the time. However, combing through the game in preparation for the story made me like it...a lot less. Like, a lot less. It's my least favorite game in the series now, and this is coming from someone who's played every game outside of the Jugdral titles. So, I continued writing it with the goal of making the Fates story better, which I hope I've done a decent job of so far, though the major changes have yet to come. 
> 
> You'd figure I'd have this done by now considering the fact that it's been almost four years, but note that I was a freshman in high school at the start of this and now I'm a freshman in college. Through nearly five years of school, struggling with depression, numerous rewrites, and a lot of other life issues, this story hasn't really been given the attention I should have given it over the years. To make a long story short, we're nearly caught up to the point where I haven't written any further. 
> 
> Now, there're still a few chapters until we get to that point, but in the interest of keeping up a consistent update schedule, I'm going to go ahead and put this story on a short little hiatus. It'll only last a month, and seeing as how this story is updated bi-weekly, you'll only be missing two updates. Don't fret! I promise it's all just to make sure that the coming chapters are the best that they can be. As always, don't forget to leave a comment if you have any thoughts you'd like to be heard, and I hope you all have yourselves a good one~!


	16. Gray Waves

While Shirasagi was known to be a bright and vibrant capital, its underground life was one that if publicized would forever mar the city’s reputation. 

Unfortunately for the women who frequented the streets of Shirasagi during nightfall, one of the most prominent corrupt industries was that of sex trafficking. The city police force had done their best to combat the growth as well as the continued operation of the circle, but their best had not been enough.

Ruling over the crime rung was a man by the name of Tarba. Rumors had it that he was an immigrant from the Nohrian district of Muspelheim, a land that was almost entirely a vast desert. He had apparently moved to Shirasagi seeking work, but instead found a gang whose ranks he quickly climbed, soon having a dozen men at his beck and call. With his newfound power, he amassed his wealth by abducting the women of Shirasagi and selling them off to any fat cat with the coin to spare. 

As fate may have it, Tarba’s luck had run out one day. One of the women he had auctioned off managed to subdue her buyer one night with the help of a kitchen knife she had gotten ahold of. Immediately, she had gone to the only people she knew would be able to put an end to Tarba’s operation quickly, efficiently, and without complication. 

As such, that was why Corrin was standing in the middle of a room where corpses littered the floor with his wife by his side, wiping the blood from the blade on his armguard with a content expression on his face. The past five years had been kind to him physically. His face had matured and his once juvenile haircut was now much more well kept and refined, a lock of hair falling over his face and making his hairstyle similar to his Kagero’s. At this point his armor had seen a redesign, now resembling a mix of its original state with elements of Hoshidan ninja implemented into it. Gone was the waistguard, now replaced with padding that protected his thighs. His cuirass was now more slick and contoured to the shape of his body, the Hoshidan insignia painted on the back of it in gold. He wore black, fingerless gloves that clung to his skin and were connected to fabric that ran down his arms to just before his shoulders. Lastly, while he wore traditional Hoshidan armguards and classic Nohrian greaves, he had managed to keep his signature blue and white colour scheme while adding in a splash of gold. 

“Think there are any more hiding?” he asked as he ran two fingers down the base of each of the blades protruding from his armguards, right where the steel met the armor. A blue glow shone from the area which preceded the blade retracting right into the armguards. 

Kagero shook her head and moved her hair out of her face. Not much had changed about her appearance wise aside from the fact that she had gotten taller, though she possessed a more grown up aura to her. 

“No, we would have noticed.” She smirked and took a step closer to him, nudging his arm. “Nothing escapes the keen sights of the Assassin Prince, after all.” 

Corrin groaned and Kagero chuckled; she seemed much more fond of the nickname that some of the Hoshidan people had given him than he was. He had amassed a small reputation for his skills as an honorary ninja and in particular his knack for carrying out assassinations. He lacked the ability to teleport short distances like his wife or Saizo or Kaze could, but he _ was _able to fly, and that provided him with a large amount of utility. 

“Right, right. Well, we should tell the guards that we’re finished here so that they can clean up and report back to the woman who made this whole thing known to us. Ah…what was her name again?” 

“Mikuru, I believe.” Kagero sighed and placed her hand on her chest as her and Corrin began walking towards the stairs that lead out of the cellar they were in and into the first floor of an old tavern. “I hope that she’s holding up okay. She must have endured so much while being held captive by that vile man.” 

“She seems like a hardy woman; I’m sure she’s fine. She escaped all on her own, after all.” Corrin nodded to himself in affirmation. With the way that woman carried herself and spoke, he got the feeling that she was one who could endure trauma. “Hey, did you ever finish that painting you showed me a few days ago? The landscape of the Bottomless Canyon?” 

Biting her lip, the woman shook her head regretfully. “No, sorry. I was hoping to have it finished by your birthday, but I’m afraid I was hit with a bout of artist’s block. I simply couldn’t find the will to continue painting when the inspiration wasn’t striking me as it usually does. Forgive me, my love.” 

“Ah, well don’t fret over it. There’s no need to apologize. If you want, you can scrap the whole thing. In fact—”

“Boo!”

As the pair exited the tavern, they were startled by a voice suddenly calling out. Kagero reflexively reached for her daggers and Corrin his katana, but both stopped when they were met with a familiar laughing face. In the years passed, Azura’s long straight hair had retained its length, but was now much wavier. In addition to this, she no longer wore the same blue and white outfit that she was once known for, but instead opted for something that was similar in appearance but still different in design. She wore a snug white top cut off below her ribs with blue bands wrapped around it and white leggings. Her gloves had had their length reduced considerably, now only reaching her elbows instead of her shoulders. On her left stood her husband Kaze and on her right Lilith, both of whom time had seemingly left untouched. The most immediately noticeable thing about the dragon girl was the fact that she had regained her human form. She gave a wide smile, something that she was still happy to be able to do again despite having regained the ability years prior.

Corrin let out a deep breath and chuckled, shaking his head as Azura laughed out loud. “Gods, Azura. I nearly took your head off.” 

“Oh, please. You’re not that impulsive.” The woman stepped forward and pulled her old friend into a hug, then did the same to Kagero. “It’s been a few weeks since we’ve last spoken. We don’t get to see each other much ever since you two moved to the hills, you know. How have you been?” 

“We’ve been well, thank you,” Corrin answered with a smile. “Nothing of note has happened lately. Really it’s just been the same routine. Kagero has her painting, I have my reading. How about you?” 

Azura waved his question away and stepped to the side, holding her arms out as if she were presenting Lilith. The former maid giggled and in an instant, a large doorway to the Astral Plane manifested itself before them. 

“Forget about that for a second,” she said. “Some people wanted to see you two!” 

Immediately, Corrin was tackled with the force of a small bull and was knocked to the ground. He had no need to retaliate, however, for a smile was instantly brought to his face by the sight of the snow white hair attached to the head that was pressed into his chest. He instead laughed and hugged his assailant back, rising to his feet with her still attached to him. 

The person who had attacked him was a little girl who stood barely as tall as Corrin’s chest, donning a light red dress and a navy blue handkerchief wrapped around her neck. Like Corrin, she had vibrant red eyes and pointed ridged ears that were indicators of her draconic heritage. The second girl to emerge from the portal was a much taller and calmer one. The tone of her hair matched her mother’s while her eyes matched her father’s, though she lacked her sister’s pointed ears. The clothes this girls wore were more comfortable, being a black blouse with a pink bow wrapped around the waist and plain black shorts. She stood with her hands behind her back, only removing one to adjust her simple pink glasses. 

“Kara! Kotomi! What are you two doing here?” Corrin asked with a chuckle as he released his youngest daughter. He was always glad to see his children, as was Kagero, evident by her uncharacteristic grin. 

“It’s been so long since we’ve last seen you! We’ve missed you!” Kara replied with balled fists and an eager tone. 

Kotomi kicked at the dirt, her eyes aimed at the ground. “It’s uh…been a year,” she said quietly. “It’s good to see you again.” 

Corrin grimaced and immediately placed his hands on Kotomi’s shoulder apologetically. “Gods, I’m sorry, Princess. We meant to visit you two yesterday, but got caught up with work. We didn’t mean to leave you for so long, you know that.” 

The young girl only nodded, not wanting to look up. A twinge of pain flashed on Corrin’s face. Every time he saw his daughters he felt a pit in his stomach, since it was usually a very long time between reunions on their end. Their situation was a complicated one and not one that the man would wish on anyone. 

While Kagero had given birth to Kara one year prior and Kotomi four years before that, they were thirteen and seventeen years old respectively. This was due to them not living in the same realm of existence that their parents did. A part of Corrin felt horrible about the decision he had made years before, but knew that it was what was best for his little girls.

* * *

“That’s a terrible idea.” 

The first one to respond to the proposition all those years ago had been Saizo, who sat at the round table with his arms crossed. Orochi sat by his side and leaned on his shoulder with a conflicted expression. 

“That’s the reaction I expected, but I want you to hear me out. I wouldn’t have called you all here today if I didn’t think that this was something that most of us would agree to,” Corrin responded confidently. He was sitting next to a very obviously pregnant Kagero, who appeared to be about sixth months along. The commander gestured to Lilith, who stood behind him with a tentative smile on her face. “Lilith, I trust that you’ll be able to explain this far better than I can.” 

“R-right.” Lilith pressed her index fingers together nervously and took a step forward, clearing her throat. “Uh…well, like Corrin said, you would be placing your children in separate dimensions for safekeeping. There, they would be able to grow up safely, since only I can access those places. Unfortunately, the progression of time between here and there wouldn't be the same. One day here could be five there, or even a month. It varies, and as far as I know there’s no way to predict it.” She sighed and scratched her head a bit with a furrowed brow. “Also, they’re not really fully separate universes, but more like…pocket dimensions? For instance, there’s one I know of that’s roughly the size of the castle, and beyond that there’s nothing. If we were to go through with this, I would be able to do the same things that I can do in the Astral Plane over there. We’d have to place them with a few caregivers of course, and, well…they would pretty much be raising them in your stead.” 

Saizo thinned his eyes angrily. “And Kagero, you’re okay with this? You intend to leave your child in some other world and have her be raised by strangers?” 

“They’re not strangers,” Kagero replied calmly, her hands laid over her belly. “My brother, his wife, and her sisters have already agreed to stay with my child if we were to do this. I admit that while I am apprehensive about the idea of my brother suddenly being years older than me, I’m willing to set my aversion aside in order to ensure the well being of my child. Lilith, we would be able to visit them any time we wished, yes?” 

“Of course!” Lilith chimed in. “The entry points are always available, so you could see your kids anytime you wanted as long as I was there to open them.” 

“Even with that, would it be worth it in the end anyway?” Takumi asked, concerned. “I know that Nohr is dangerous and all, but are they dangerous enough to warrant not being able to raise our children ourselves?”

“Eight,” Hana responded bluntly. All eyes turned to her and everyone bore witness to her tired expression as she rocked her sleeping baby boy wrapped in blankets in her arms, Hinata looking down on him with a fond yet exhausted smile. “That’s how many times we’ve been attacked in the past month alone. Whether it be assassins, Faceless, or some other type of monster, they’re _ always _there. Just last week, I heard crying coming from Hisame’s nursery and found a stranger standing over his crib and holding a dagger. If I got out of bed a second later…” 

The samurai bit her tongue hard and Hinata took it as a signal that he should take over. “Look. Hana and I have already decided that we’re going to keep on keeping on and get through this together, so you can count us out of this whole baby dimension idea. But what she’s getting at is that as long as they’re exposed, our kids _ are _ in danger.” He looked at Ryoma, who had his eyes closed solemnly. “Shiro.” Next, he looked to Felicia, who was twiddling her thumbs. “Mitama.” Finally, his eyes found Saizo’s. “Even little Junior. He’s what, barely a month old? He was attacked _ yesterday _. I don’t even know how you could be here right now without him.” 

“Kaze is watching over both him and my daughter, thank you very much,” Azama answered. “Azura, would you be a dear and thank him again for doing that when you get home?” 

“Of course, Azama,” Azura responded. 

The monk gave a nod of gratitude and continued. “I am aware that you are not exactly the brightest, Corrin, but do you _ really _think that we would be so heartless as to give up the opportunity to raise our own children? What kind of monsters would we have to be to agree to that?” 

Suddenly, Corrin slammed his fist on the edge of the table, the noise startling several of his friends and family. Sakura’s eyes were wide with shock and Subaki held her close. The commander slowly held up his finger and pointed it at Azama, his eyes tightly shut.

“Do not,” he began, his finger trembling, “use that word. My sister is not a monster. Not a single one of my siblings are monsters. None.” 

Oboro sighed and put her fingers to her temples. “So it was Kamui’s idea, of course.” 

Corrin took a deep breath and opened his eyes, forcing himself to carry on speaking calmly. “She is in a similar situation to ours. They don’t know who’s sending attackers, but Faceless and other monsters have been tormenting them as well. Everyone in the main force of her army agreed to it, though reluctantly. Right, Lilith?”

“Yes. Jakob and his family had been attacked a few times and Kamui was thinking of a solution, so that’s when I brought up the idea. She mentioned it to her soldiers and surprisingly, they all agreed.” 

Kissing her teeth, Oboro crossed her arms and looked to the side. “That figures. Anyone with half a brain knows that Nohrian morals are practically non-existent. Dishonorable murder, kidnapping, pillaging, the list goes on. Seriously, Corrin. I don’t think that—”

“I will do it.” 

When they realized who had spoken, several of those who were present gasped. Ryoma sat completely still with his lips pressed together, a serious expression on his face. 

“Ryoma…?” Hinoka whispered. 

“Life with Shiro…has not been easy. I am not a weak man, but I fear that I may not be strong enough to defend him alone attack after attack. My duties as king make watching over him difficult, and I would hate for any one of his caretakers to be hurt because of me. If this solution you speak of is effective, then I would like to make it so that my son can grow up without living in constant fear.” 

Before anyone could retort, Kaden added onto Ryoma’s statement. The kitsune leaned forward and whined for a moment. 

“Yeah, I’ve gotta say that I’m not too keen on Noka and I’s little pup having people after ‘em all the time. I’ve been hunted before, and let me tell you, it is _ not _fun. What do you think?” he asked his wife, who crossed her arms and mused on the idea for a moment.

“Well…I have to agree with you there. Of course I’m not eager to give up on raising my child myself, but if it means their safety, then I don’t see how I could decline.” Hinoka tapped her fingers along the table's edge anxiously. “It’s a difficult decision.” 

“Look,” Hayato began. “I think that we should first and foremost focus on those of us who have children _ now _or are expecting. That’d be Ryoma, Azama and Felicia, Saizo and Orochi, Hana and Hinata, Corrin and Kagero, and myself and Rinkah. Hana and Hinata are out and obviously Corrin and Kagero are on board—plus the king agreed—so what about the rest of us?” 

Rinkah had only just begun to show signs of pregnancy, a very small bump being visible in her belly. Some found it odd to see someone so physically toned take on signs of maternity, but she seemed to be handling it with confidence. 

“In my tribe, ideas of motherhood are different than yours. A baby would be raised by several people with their mother having the final say in all decisions, so this isn’t that much different for me. If it means security for my child, then I would do anything.” She placed her hand on Hayato’s own and the young man nodded in agreement, affirming his opinion to his comrades.

Azama frowned and looked to his wife before slightly opening his eyes, his star-shaped pupils just barely being visible. They showed signs of inner turmoil, something most would never expect from a man as seemingly apathetic towards life as Azama. 

“Truth be told, I have been enjoying raising little Mitama quite a bit. We have not been targeted yet, but it’s only a matter of time before those Nohrians start to come after us. I _ do _value her safety…tell me, what do you think, Felicia? I put this decision in your hands.” 

The former maid put her thumbnail in her mouth and anxiously bounced her knee, groaning. “Well…I grew up in Nohr and was pretty much raised by Gunter, and I think I turned out pretty okay. Obviously I would like it if we were able to bring Mitama up in the world ourselves, but…the war’s going to start up again eventually, isn’t it? I know it’s been peaceful for a while, but Nohr’s going to attack again one day—that, I can rely on. What if something happens to us? Then she’ll grow up without her parents anyway. But to not get to grow up at all…well, I think that’s just awful.” Felicia nodded adamantly, looking Corrin directly in the eyes. “Alright, we’ll do it. As long as she’s safe and happy, then it’ll be fine.” 

Saizo shook his head and closed his eyes only for his expression to soften when his wife leaned her head on his shoulders. “Saizo…” she began, “I know how you feel about this, but maybe we should think about it? Don’t you want him to be safe?” 

“Hmph. I can keep him safe myself. I don’t need to throw him in some pocket dimension with a bunch of nurses to guarantee his life isn’t endangered. If the Nohrians want to hurt him, then they’ll have to go through me.” 

“You’ll die.” 

Everyone’s attention turned to Azura, who had been relatively silent throughout the entire meeting. She tapped her pointer finger on the table’s edge and rested her head in her hand, looking rather bored. 

“Excuse me?” Saizo questioned.

“I am not saying that you’re weak or anything of the sort, but if you know Nohr, you know that they’ll do anything in their power to get what they want. Are you truly willing to live out the rest of your days constantly worrying whether or not any given person around you is a Nohrian assassin with the intent to murder your child? They’ll poison his food, send monsters after him—and if you can somehow manage to protect him from all of that, I guarantee that they’ll swallow their pride and come after you themselves. Don’t ask me why they’re only targeting our children and not us; it’s likely because they wish to demoralize us. Either way, by all means make your own decision. I’m simply asking for you to consider your future.” 

The ninja sat in silence for several moments before looking at the downtrodden expression of Orochi at his side. Finally, he gave a heavy groan before thinning his eyes at Corrin. 

“Fine, but I reserve the right to back out at any point. If either of us decide to raise him on our own, then you have to let us.” 

“Of course,” Corrin replied. “That same right extends to all of you—I would never stop you from being with your children.” A smile crept along the prince’s face as he let out a satisfied breath, nodding to himself. “Good, then. You can send them off whenever you’d like. Just contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Lilith here.” 

The companions exchanged glances of varying emotions with each other as Corrin continued to explain his plans. Some were of hope while others were of concern, but ultimately they all knew that they could put their trust in the man they called their leader. 

* * *

“So then I was like _ Raaawr! _and those two guys ran right back where they came from! Auntie Layla told me that there must have been a rift in my Deeprealm or something and that’s how they got it, but it didn’t matter in the end! My dragon form is almost as scary as yours, Papa!” 

As Kara finished her tale, Corrin smiled lovingly at her before setting down his glass. His family as well as Azura, Lilith and Kaze all sat around a rectangular oaken dining room table, their dinner having been finished minutes before. They would have washed their hands by now, but Kara insisted that they hear her story of how a pair of brothers had invaded her Deeprealm seeking to kidnap her. 

Kagero noticed her eldest daughter sitting quietly with her lips pursed, hands in her lap. Kotomi was a quiet child, though she seemed to be more troubled than anything at the moment. 

“Kotomi? You haven’t spoken in a while,” Kagero said. “Why don’t you tell us about how you’ve been?” 

The young girl shifted in her seat, her gaze nervously moving between each of the people sitting around her. “Well…I was fighting the men too at first, but Kara wanted to handle them by herself and got really upset when I told her no, so I just watched. She was pretty good at scaring those guys away.”

“Is that so? Well, we’re proud of both of you for defending yourselves.” 

The room was filled with an awkward silence when Kotomi did not respond. To break it, Corrin clapped his hands together and stood. “Well! If I might say, that was a phenomenal dinner. Thank you for cooking, Lilith. Now, how about our girls stay with us for a few days before heading back to their Deeprealm? Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Uh, about that…” Lilith began in a small voice, twirling her braid around her finger. “Corrin, Kagero, there’s actually a reason other than just wanting to see you that we came here today. We figured your daughters should be here to hear the news.” 

“News?” Corrin’s brow furrowed and his heart began to sink. Judging by the look on her face as well as the tone in her voice, this could not be good. He exchanged a worried glance with Kagero before turning back to his old friend. Kara leaned forward with her head in her hands, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Well…it’s best not to delay it any more. What is it?” 

“You know of the village about a mile off the east side of the border—Kusano?” Azura asked flatly, tracing her finger along the table’s edge. “It was completely and utterly razed two days ago. Trampled. Burned to the ground. Not a single survivor to be found. Shortly after that, Shigure disappeared. Neither me nor Kaze have any idea where he could have gone.” 

Corrin’s nails dug into his knees as he slowly nodded in understanding. Shigure was the son of Kaze and Azura, and while he was not the first to be born among the children of Hoshido’s finest, he was in fact the oldest. He was a kind and gentle young man, though he had a knack for vanishing into the woods every so often in order to be closer to nature. It seemed that his disappearing act had gone too far this time around. 

“Apparently your sister has been busy,” Kaze said with a sigh as he finished his tea. “Burned up tomes from Nohr were found on the site by a caravan that was supposed to be delivering supplies. It seems that after five years of armistice, King Iago has decided to finally make his move.” 

The young prince groaned and leaned forward, tightly gripping his hair in frustration. “Gods damn it, Kamui…” he mumbled. 

Lilith continued. “Yukimura sought out the whereabouts of all of our frontline fighters, and aside from Hana and Hinata—who’ve retired—they’re all accounted for. As such…well, they’re just waiting on you to give the word.” 

“Give the word to what? Attack Nohr? Gods, Lilith, that’s not an easy decision.” 

“I know, I know! I’m just the messenger.” 

Kagero blinked a few times before biting her lip. “And what has Kamui told you?” 

The dragon winced. “I…I don’t do that. I’m supposed to be a neutral party here; I can’t just tell you whatever Kamui tells me in confidence.” 

“But Nohrians are the bad guys!” Kara protested with her arms crossed. “Aren’t you supposed to help fight the bad guys? Why are you protecting them?” 

“Kamui isn’t a bad guy, Kara, she’s—”

“Well, we’re certainly the good guys, and if they are against us…” Kagero interrupted.

“Things aren’t as black and white as that, you know,” Azura explained. “In her eyes, I’m sure that—”

Azura was abruptly cut off by Corrin slamming his palms into the table and standing, rattling the dishes that sat atop the surface. He deeply inhaled before slowly letting his hands fall to his side, then turning around and beginning to walk away. 

“I’ll be in my office. I’ll be out shortly.” 

No one said a word as the dragon prince exited the room. Soon, he found himself sitting in his chair at his desk and staring at old documents, a tired expression on his face. They were the profiles of each and every one of his soldiers, detailing what they had disclosed of their backgrounds and some of their recent endeavors. He sprawled them out across his desk and began to read.

The first paper that caught his eye was Takumi, his brother. While initially cold and antagonistic towards him, the man had matured much over the years and now treated Corrin quite well. Him and Oboro lived in Castle Shirasagi and had one child together, a young boy named Kiragi who was quite optimistic and full of energy. Oboro now ran a tailor service in the heart of Shirasagi and was successful right from the start. After all, who wouldn’t want a garment crafted by a princess?

Then there was Hinoka, who had married Kaden for reasons that Corrin could not for the life of him comprehend. Over the past five years, she had spent her time training the nations up-and-coming pegasus knights, though they had seen almost no action since the ascension of King Iago. Years ago, she had birthed a half-kitsune girl by the name of Selkie, who shared her mother’s red hair and was now nearly twenty years old.

Sakura lived a quiet life with her husband at her side. She mainly oversaw tea ceremonies and attended many high society events in Hoshido, often acting as the guest of honor as any princess would. Her daughter, Matoi, had spent the first seventeen years of her life in her own Deeprealm, but now assisted Hinoka in the training of the pegasus knights. As for Subaki, he had picked up fishing as a hobby and soon became the best fisherman in the land.

As for Saizo and Orochi, they continued working for the Hoshidan royal family. Saizo carried out covert operations alongside his brother while Orochi performed divinations and fortune telling for the aristocracy officially, though on the side she did the same for the lower class citizens. Saizo was known to spend several days at a time in his son’s Deeprealm, presumably for training purposes.

The files for both Hayato and Rinkah were practically blank, as the two had relocated back to Rinkah’s home in the Flame Tribe not long after their daughter—Rhajat—was born. They still occasionally visited Shirasagi to see their old friends or for diplomatic purposes, but kept to themselves for the most part.

Corrin was initially wary when Felicia had requested to become one of Castle Shirasagi’s maids, though was pleasantly surprised when she began to show gradual signs of improvement. She had displayed more progress over the course of five years in Hoshido than she had after over a decade in Nohr. Her husband Azama took up the humble position as a healer at one of the capital’s hospitals. He had been offered the opportunity to ascend in rank numerous times, though had declined each of them.

While Kaze had been up to mostly the same as his brother, Azura had chosen to live a quiet life in the castle with her siblings. Occasionally, she would go into town and entertain the citizens with her heavenly voice. Despite having been close to her for years at this point, Corrin still felt as if she were an enigma of a woman.

There were only two members of Corrin’s squad who had not married. Much to Corrin’s dismay, one of them was Setsuna. She had told him many times that she possessed no desire to find someone to settle down with and was perfectly satisfied simply acting as Hinoka’s retainer. He respected her decision of course, though part of him still felt somewhat guilty.

Lastly there was a woman whom Corrin had never met before Nohr’s attack on Cheve all those years ago—Reina. She had joined Corrin along with a handful of his soldiers in a small series of skirmishes shortly after the Cheve attack, and the prince found her to be…disturbing. Her motherly attitude reminded him somewhat of Camilla, but while his eldest sister had more of a nonchalant approach to warfare, Reina seemed to relish in it. She had once told him that her favorite thing was the screams of her enemies the moment before they died. As for what she had been up to the past five years, she was the head of the Kinshi Knights of Hoshido, an elite group of mounted warriors who rivaled the Pegasus Knights. 

Corrin groaned and set the files off to the side, rapping his knuckles on the table anxiously. He had figured that the amity would not last forever, though now that war was once again upon him, he was incredibly concerned. He was a husband as well as a father now—what would he do if his wife or children were hurt? What would he do if he were to lose? He hadn’t spoken to or even seen any of his Nohrian siblings in five years and the man he once called Father was long dead. 

Pushing his thoughts aside, he slowly rose to his feet and shuffled over to a dusty old closet against the wall. It had been nearly three years since it was last opened, for Corrin had wished he would never have to use what was inside again. 

Closing his eyes, he weakly put his hands through the handles and sighed, mustering up every ounce of willpower he had in order to open it. Finally, he laid his gaze upon the weapon that was destined to either save the world or bring it to ruin.

The Yato.

* * *

“Remember to maintain proper form!” 

In the training grounds of Castle Krakenburg, the swords of two young warriors clashed over and over, sparks flying through the air and the sound of metal on metal reverberating. Clouds of dirt were kicked up whenever a step was taken and clung to the cloth of the fighters’ armor, though it was nothing that would stain. 

One fighter was a short boy with silver hair that stuck out in multiple directions. He was wearing armor practically identical to the armor that Kamui had designed for her brother years ago, though fitted for a smaller frame. Despite his youthful looking face, he bore a fierce and determined expression as he skillfully swung his blade through the air. 

The other combatant was a much taller girl with hair a few shades lighter than her opponent’s kept back by a black headband lined with several vertical spikes. Her red eyes possessed a fire all too familiar to anyone who had been around Kamui for long enough. The armor that the young woman wore was the typical design assigned to Nohrian knights, though this particular set was rather scratched and dented. 

In the bleachers sat four individuals who observed the battle with varying levels of concern. The person who appeared to be the most worried was an extremely feminine looking boy with long, brown curls that fell to his shoulder blades. He wore a rather pretty outfit consisting of mostly pink, the sleeves ending in white ruffles. 

“Are you sure they should be using real weapons like this?” he asked with a frown, his eyes locked on the fighters as they moved around the battlefield. 

Next to him, the third highest ranking member of the Nohrian army waved the comment off. The years had been rather gracious to Kamui, bestowing upon her a few more centimeters to her height as well a tight fitting leather amulet in which her dragonstone hung. Her hair was now set in a pixie cut with long bangs on the left side so as to frame her face, a decision that she made after growing frustrated with how much effort it took to maintain her previous style. As for what she was wearing, it was similar to her old armor in design, though the material was now a deep black and she wore a large black and gold shoulder guard. She had done away with the cape and the top half of the back of her armor was almost entirely exposed, allowing her to use her wings without any hassle. 

“Don’t worry, they’re hardy. Besides, if either of them get seriously hurt, you’re right here to heal them.” 

Silas smirked and leaned over to the brunette boy, a notable thing having had changed about him being his smooth face. Now, he possessed a rather prominent stubble that indicated that he had matured over the years and his once wave-like hair now fell forward and covered a portion of his forehead. 

“It’s happened before, for your information. Kana nearly lost one of his wings because of it.” 

“Jakob was there to fix it, though!” Camilla quickly added, eager to make sure that the boy did not suddenly develop a negative opinion of Kamui for allowing her children to fight using real weapons. She only even insisted that they use them for practice to make her subordinates take sparring more seriously. 

The young boy on the battlefield was being forced backwards by his opponent, every swing of her sword pushing him farther and farther. Gritting his teeth, he stepped back on his own and sprouted a thick draconic tail from underneath his waistguard, twisting his body and using the tip to slap the young woman in the face. She winced, though did not let that stop her assault. To end it all, she slammed her boot into the boy’s abdomen and knocked him to his rear, then pressing her foot down onto his chest and raising her sword. 

“Boom! You’re dead. Remember, Kana, Dad said to protect your chest. You might be small, but it’s still an easy target.” The girl removed her foot from his chest and smiled, offering her hand to him. Instead of taking it, he grit his teeth and pushed himself to his feet on his own, dusting his hands afterwards. 

“You wouldn’t use that move in an actual fight, you know,” Kana said in a childlike and boyish voice. “You wouldn’t be able to knock anyone down like that; it only worked on me ‘cause I’m light.” 

The friendly smile on the girl’s face faded. She kissed her teeth and rolled her eyes, then putting her fists on her hips and leaning forward. 

“Right, because you would _ totally _use your tail to slap someone in the face. You did that just to annoy me, didn’t you? You know, I wish I would have grabbed that stupid tail and—” 

“Alright alright, please cease the squabbling for my sake.” Kamui stood up and bounded down the three rows of bleachers before her before stepping onto the dirt, then approaching the two children with a surprisingly warm aura that one would not have expected of her years ago. “Kana, don’t just back off when you’re being overwhelmed. You’re special; remember that. You can turn into a dragon, fly back with your wings, or use them to protect yourself. I’m sure you can come up with even more ways to utilize your skills!” 

Kana crossed his arms and pouted, his eyes not meeting his mother’s. “Why do you only give advice to me? It’s not like Sophie was perfect.” 

“Oh please, you know she doesn’t have any dragon-specific advice to give me. I can’t do what you can do, doofus. You know that, so quit teasing me about it!” 

Kamui raised her hand to prevent Kana from retorting and turned her smile to her daughter instead. “Actually, I do have some words of wisdom for you. You’re a natural as a cavalrywoman, but I can tell at a glance that you’re still not entirely comfortable fighting on your feet. Work on your stance; you’re leaving your sides open quite a bit. It’s important to get used to fighting without a mount, you know. What if something were to happen to Avel on the battlefield?” 

“Woah!” Silas exclaimed as he approached with Camilla and the pretty boy. “Hey now, don’t put that bad energy out there like that. Sophie, I promise that not a single bad thing will happen to Avel ever. Agro’s pretty old and he’s still fighting strong! Meanwhile, Avel’s still young and hearty.”

“Haven’t we proven that being young doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re durable, Daddy?” Sophie asked with a teasing grin towards her brother. Immediately, Kana balled his fists and took a step towards her, only to be stopped by Kamui stepping in front of him. 

The boy in the pink cap chuckled and covered his mouth. “You weren’t like this with my father or your other brothers were you, Auntie?” 

“No, I can’t say that I was. The times I did see Leo or Xander, we got along like normal siblings. As for Corrin, our arguments were less petty sibling squabbles and more full blown debates. Our relationship was…odd.” Kamui shrugged. “Listen, Forrest. Sibling relations are strange. Some get along well enough, some are slightly _ too _close, and others despise each other.”

Forrest put his finger on his chin and tilted his head. “Well, Siegbert, Velouria and I grew up in the same Deeprealm, so I suppose they could be considered my siblings even though we’re cousins. I get along with both of them swimmingly, though they tend to butt heads from time to time. I suppose I understand what you’re saying.” 

Sighing, Camilla pressed her fist into her cheek with a frown. “Oh, how I wish my little girl was better at making friends. It isn’t even that she’s anti-social, she’s just so eccentric that it throws people off! What a shame that she didn’t inherit my charm…”

“She takes more after Keaton than she does you, that’s for sure. Well, except for one department,” Sophie commented with a snicker, eyeing her aunt’s generous chest. While Camilla did not seem to fully understand the statement, Kamui punished her daughter by tugging on her ear regardless.

Keaton was Camilla’s husband of two years and the father of her child. The party had come across him whilst renovating Fort Dragonfall, where he informed them that he was apparently lost and had not a clue of where he was. When a horde of Faceless emerged from the shadows and began to close in on them, Keaton demonstrated his battle prowess by transforming into what _ he _called a wolf, though Kamui insisted that it was more of a bear-badger hybrid. Keaton came from a tribe of Wolfskin, a race similar to Kitsune in their ability to transform into beasts. After that encounter, he was recruited by request of Leo, as he had developed an interest in the fighting capabilities of a beastman. Kamui wasn’t too knowledgeable about how his relationship with her sister developed, but they eventually came to marry and had a daughter together, Velouria. 

As for the other child that Forrest had mentioned—Siegbert—he was Kamui’s nephew and the child of Xander. His mother was a woman of questionable character by the name of Charlotte, who was a border guard before joining the brigade. She bore the outward appearance of a frail and delicate woman, but Kamui saw what she was capable of on the battlefield. No fair maiden would swing an ax with such ferocity and sling profanities as if they were going out of style like Charlotte could. She was not quite sure what her brother saw in her, but then again, she had married a knight who rarely took things seriously and gave his daughter a horse that was impossible to tame in order to “build character”. 

“Alright, let’s head back into the castle. It’s nearly supper time. I believe Mozu was on cooking duty today?” Kamui said. 

Forrest beamed with excitement, clapping his hands together lightly. “Oh, joy! There’s nothing like Mother’s cooking. She’s taught me a few recipes, you know. Maybe I could help out the castle cooks one day?” 

Kana blew a raspberry, beginning to walk with his arms crossed as the rest followed. “‘Course you’d know how to cook well; you’re practically a girl anyway.” 

“Remind me again who taught you to be so chauvinistic? Because it sure wasn’t me,” Silas inquired. “Come on now, Kana, you sound like my old man. You’re surrounded by powerful women all the time, so I don’t know why you’re a little sexist.” 

“He’s just upset that I’d always kick his butt back in our Deeprealm,” Sophie answered in her brother’s place. “He doesn’t ACTUALLY think those things, he’s just being a brat.” 

“Quit speaking for me, you stupid church bell! You don’t know what I’m thinking!” 

Kamui waved her hand and shushed her children as she approached the entrance to the castle, spotting a familiar face. “Hush, you two. Auntie Elise’s here!” 

The commander believed that out of all of her companions, Elise had undergone the most drastic physical change over the years. Now twenty-one years of age, the childish little girl that Kamui had once known had grown into a capable young woman. Thankfully, she still was not as tall as her big sister, though was certainly more…developed. Her growth spurt had done wonders for her womanly figure, and while she wasn’t quite as voluptuous as Camilla, she would certainly turn the heads of men when she walked through town—and it was not because she was a princess. She had abandoned her curled pigtails in favor of her naturally straight hair in a sidetail, a large black bow affixed to the back of her head. 

Kamui noticed the troubled expression on her little sister’s face—namely the furrowed brow and the single inflated cheek. When Elise’s eyes found them, her face lit up and she scurried forward. 

“Kamui! Camilla! Oh, the kids are with you.” She knelt down with a smile and ruffled Kana’s hair, her hand being shoved away immediately. “H-hey! How are you three doing?” 

“I’m fine, Forrest is Forrest, Kana’s cranky,” Sophie answered. 

“Elise, what seems to be the trouble?” Kamui asked. “You look frantic. Is something the matter?” 

Rising, Elise rapidly tapped her foot on the ground and bit her lip. “Y-yeah. Kind of. We’re handling it. I’m sorry to separate you all, but would you mind if I steal my sisters away for a second? No offense to any of you, of course.” 

Silas held his hand up and nodded. “Say no more, Elise. I’ll take these kids to the dining room; take all the time you need.” 

“I hope whatever it is isn’t bad…” Forrest mumbled as he walked away with the other three. Sophie smiled and waved. 

“Later, mom! Later, aunties!” 

With a small wave in response, Camilla frowned and looked down at Elise. “What is it, my dear? You’re not usually this anxious.” 

Elise quickly shook her head and grabbed her sisters by the hands, beginning to pull them in the direction of the castle’s small jail, the entrance of which was located in the garden. “Don’t know how to explain it, just come on. Kamui, you have to decide where we go from here.” 

Camilla and Kamui exchanged confused looks, but both decided to take their sisters’ word for it and continued to move their feet. When they arrived in the garden, they were shocked to see a circle of people had formed, all with their weapons drawn. 

Peri was the first to notice them approaching—apparently her Kamui-sense had activated. She too had abandoned her pigtails, though this time in favor of letting her hair fall down to her back and cutting her bangs short so that both of her eyes were easily visible. She now bore a long scar on her cheek—a memento of the attack on Cheve. Next to her stood her daughter—Soleil—whose resemblance to her father was uncanny. She looked as if a powerful mage had turned Laslow into a girl, made her younger, and slapped on Peri’s signature cotton-candy coloured hair. 

“Kamui! Good, good! Elise found her!” 

“Excellent!” Odin proclaimed, his voice dominating the area immediately. After half a decade, his outfit was similar to what he used to wear, but now covered much more skin and looked more appropriate for the era. “As expected of the companion of the great Odin Dark!” 

“Companion?” Selena scoffed, turning her sword from the center of the circle onto Odin himself. She hadn’t aged a day. “Remind me again who your WIFE is, stupid?!” 

Laslow groaned, briefly taking his eyes off of whatever it was that they were surrounding in order to put his hand to his face. “Gods, do you two ever stop bickering? Really? Not even at a time like this?” 

Those who had been absent for the last five years would not recognize the person who completed the circle, a youthful-looking girl with jet black hair in dark mage’s robes who bore a strange crest on her forehead. Kamui was just about ready to relieve Niles of his manhood when he introduced her as his wife around a year prior, but he quickly explained that a mishap with the dark arts when she was a child had rendered her unable to physically age. Kamui was suspicious at first, but was convinced when the woman called Nyx proved herself to be rather mature and was shown to possess magical ability that could only be held by those with decades of study. 

“Children, really. Aren’t you three supposed to be in your mid-twenties by now?” she asked with a sigh, purple aura swirling around her arm. “Welcome, princesses. We seem to have a dilemma on our hands.” 

“Hey, cuties!” Soleil said with a bright smile and a wave. Despite two of the three being married women, the young girl possessed no qualms with flirting with the royal sisters. According to Laslow, she took after him in his younger years. Kamui had initially admired her confidence, though soon found herself to be annoyed by her persistence. Even though she had a girlfriend, she still tried to woo anything in a skirt. “Come check out what Dad found skulking around here!” 

The sisters moved forward and Kamui thinned her eyes, signalling for everyone to lower their weapons. When the swords were sheathed and the magic dissipated, Peri stepped aside and allowed Kamui to see exactly what it was they were circled around. 

Bound in the center of the now broken circle was a young man with straight blue hair that covered one half of his face. He bore golden eyes and was quite the handsome young man, his pegasus rider armor accentuating his figure rather nicely. Though his face had been on the ground, he struggled to sit up and smiled warmly at Kamui before speaking. 

“Hello! I was wondering when I would get to meet you. You know, I—”

“State your name and business or you will be disposed of at once,” Kamui put fiercely, her hand suddenly taking on a draconic appearance complete with large, sharp claws. Her face bore a much more intense expression than most people ever saw those days, but one that was all too familiar to herself.

The young man chuckled, then sighed. “Yes, she _ did _tell me you’d react like that. My name is Shigure; I come from Hoshido. I believe you know my mother, Azura.” 

* * *

“Kamui, you need to relax.” 

Lilith sat cross legged at a small table in Kamui’s old room in the Astral Plane, a cup of steaming tea in her hand. No one entered the Astral Plane often anymore—they had no reason to—though Kamui had made a habit of isolating herself there when she wanted to be alone. She found that the tranquil and serene feel of the area tended to calm her nerves and clear her mind.

The princess paced around the room anxiously, trying her best not to grind her teeth. “This timing can’t be a coincidence. Iago launches an attack out of nowhere on a Hoshidan village in an attempt to reignite the war and then suddenly Azura’s damn son shows up? He has to be a spy. He must have been sent here to assassinate me, or something even more sinister.” 

“You know Corrin would never do something like that. He—” 

“And why is he so old?!” Kamui snapped, turning her attention to the woman sitting down. “You gave the same advice you gave me to him? How could you do something like that?” 

Lilith leaned forward and set her tea down, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in order to stifle her frustration. “Because Iago was sending both assassins and monsters after his companions’ children just like he was doing to you all and I wasn’t about to let them die. While it may be true that I’m supposed to be a neutral party, I’m still going to do everything I can to protect you both.” 

With a sigh, Kamui ceased her pacing and instead opted to rapidly tap her foot against the wooden floor. “You’re right, I apologize for shouting. It’s just that this doesn’t make any sense! Azura’s child suddenly appears without warning and claims to have crucial information for the enemy? And then he says that he has information for us? He can’t be telling the truth!” 

Lilith took another sip of her tea and bit her lip, staring out of the window for a moment before clearing her throat. “I said that I wouldn’t talk about this kind of stuff with either of you, but if you want my opinion…I don’t think that Shigure would agree to do something like that, even if he were ordered by Corrin or even his mother. I won’t pretend that I know him that well, but he’s a kindhearted young man. Plus, I know that he would never let himself be captured if he had malintent. If he wanted to kill you, he would swoop right down into the training grounds with his pegasus and stick a lance right through you. I swear, the guy’s got the eyes of an eagle.” 

“Then _ what _could he wish to tell us?” Kamui asked with worried eyes. “I’ve no idea, Lilith. That’s what scares me.” 

“Then don’t you think it might be a good idea to go down to the jail and hear him out?” 

“But I’m also scared of what it might be!” 

The Astral Dragon laughed, finishing her tea before setting it down on the saucer and standing. “Gods, Kamui. You’re hard to deal with, you know that? Here, I’ll tell you what. How about we—” 

Suddenly, Lilith’s eyes caught the golden glow of the sigil on the floor and Kamui was alerted by the humming noise that it emitted, quickly turning around. She squinted in confusion; as far as she knew, she and Lilith were the only ones to have entered the Astral Plane. In fact, aside from them and Corrin, she thought only Kana had the ability to access it in the first place. With her fists balled, electricity began to crackle down Kamui’s arms, being the most potent around her hands. 

The room was filled with light, and when it cleared, Kamui’s fists tightened with anger. Lilith gasped and covered her mouth as sweat beads appeared on her forehead. She was worried that she would have to collapse the entire tree house in a few moments if things were to go awry. 

Corrin looked around the room before spotting his sister and old friend standing to his left, then gave them a warm smile. “There you are,” he said. “It took me about an hour of flying around to find this place, you know. Lucky for me, you’re here just when I manage to stumble across it. I figured you would have placed it farther away, Lilith.” 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” Kamui spat. “We haven’t spoken in damn near five years and you tried to kill my father last we met, and you have the audacity to approach me so casually?” 

“Well, I wasn’t going to put in an official request to seek an audience with my sister. That would be far too formal.” Corrin stepped off of the sigil and began to walk towards the two women, making them both back up towards the wall cautiously. Despite their apparent worry over his presence, he displayed no signs of hostility.

“Get back! Don’t you dare come any closer, Corrin! I swear, I’ll—” 

“You’ll what?” Corrin asked with a small, familiar smile. “You won’t hurt me. You could 

never.” 

Kamui grit her teeth at the man who was continuing to approach her with such 

nonchalance. Who was he to make claims about what she was capable of? And yet, when she found herself backed up against the wall, she simply could not bring herself to send him flying across the room with a bolt of lighting. Instead, she found the electricity dissipating from her arms as her beloved brother wrapped his own around her. 

Slowly, Lilith lowered her hands and watched in awe, witnessing something she never thought she would see in years: this particular brother embracing this particular sister. Corrin sighed happily and pressed his lips together as he closed his eyes. 

“It’s been so, _ so _long. I’ve missed you dearly, Sister.” 

Kamui found that her breath was shaky and her eyes were damp. “Y-you’re tricking me, aren’t you? You’re making me lower my guard so that you can…” her sentence trailed off and she found herself raising her arms to reciprocate her brother's hug, a wave of emotions washing over her when she did. Her lip quivered and her body trembled, her knees growing weaker by the moment. “Why are you here?” she asked, her voice breaking.

“I wanted to see you, of course.” Corrin released her promptly and away a tear from Kamui’s face with his thumb. “Your hair…I’ve never seen it this short. I like what you’ve done with it.” 

“Um, Corrin?” Lilith chimed in. While the tension seemed to have subsided, she remained wary. She knew all too well how quickly Kamui could change her demeanor. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I really don’t think that you should be here.” 

The young prince raised his hand and shook his head, his smile remaining. “It’s fine, Lilith. As I said before, Kamui here could never hurt me. Sit.” 

Slowly, the women returned to their seats as Corrin sat down on Kamui’s bed, making himself comfortable and leaning forward. “So, sister of mine. How has the past five years treated you?”

Kamui simply stared into her brother's eyes, her expression unwavering. He looked so…mature. No longer was he the meek and submissive boy she once knew—his very presence radiated confidence. His posture was more masculine, his jawline more well defined, and even the way he spoke was different. Time had truly transformed him.

“I…” she bit down on her tongue for a moment before continuing to speak. “W-well, I suppose. I’ve wed and have two children, so…” 

Corrin’s smile grew even wider. “So I’ve heard. Word spread fast when it happened, you know. To think that my sister would grow up to marry our childhood friend. It’s quite wonderful, really. And your children? Tell me about them.” 

Kamui blinked slowly, her eyes glued to her hands in her lap. “Sophie is the older one. She has a lot of energy and is a hard worker, but lets her stubbornness get the best of her. Kana is young and…um, he is rather rambunctious. He thinks he has something to prove, and…” her voice trailed off, leading Corrin to nod his head in understanding. 

“I see, I see. They were both raised in Deeprealms, as Lilith has told me. I have children as well, you know. Two girls—Kotomi and Kara. I can’t wait for you to meet them. I think that—”

“Corrin,” Kamui interrupted, finally looking up to meet her brother’s gaze. “I know you did not fly all the way here just to catch up. Surely there’s something you wish to discuss. I do not like having my time wasted, so get on with it.” 

Corrin gave a dissatisfied sigh and shook his head. “I see you haven’t changed a bit, Sister. Well, to cut to the point, the war is resuming, isn’t it?” 

Kamui froze, her hands stiff in her lap and her lips pursed. She slowly nodded, her eyelids drooping slightly. “Yes. It was not my decision. The king…he told Xander that he was getting bored. He said that to his face. After five years, it appears that he wants a little more excitement in his life.” 

“Of course.” Corrin’s eyes drifted to his sister’s hands, small and soft yet extremely capable. He had witnessed those hands handle dozens of blades and channel advanced spells, so he knew exactly what power they possessed. “Five years…this entire time, I’ve wondered why you haven’t simply staged an uprising and usurped him. Surely you, Xander, Camilla, Leo, and Elise alone could easily dispose of him. Why allow him to continue his reign?” 

“The support of the people,” Kamui responded quickly, as if she’d been asked the question a dozen times in the past. “Iago said it best himself. I am not of Nohrian blood and everyone but Xander was born to concubines. You know how the people of Nohr are, what with their nationalism and all. If we were to go against the will of their fallen former king, we would only incite anger and potential violence among the people. None of us want that.” 

Corrin tilted his head with a frown. “So then how do you plan to defeat him? You can’t possibly expect to simply win the war and let him continue his rule. He’s a madman—you and I both know that better than anyone. He has to be stopped.” 

Kamui’s eyes closed and she shook her head, deciding to hold her tongue. “You don’t have to concern yourself with that. I’m handling it. If your intention is to claim victory for Hoshido at the end of all of this, then I suggest you start thinking of how _ you _plan to defeat him.” 

Immediately, Azura was the first thing to pop into the young man’s mind. He smirked—not in a smug manner, but with confidence. 

“I have my ways. Though, both of those realities can be avoided if we worked together, you know.” 

Lilith leaned in the instant she saw Kamui clench her fists once again. “Ah, Corrin—” 

“Think about it,” he continued. “I understand that you want to protect everyone, but really, do you truly believe that the Hoshidan army would ever be cruel to those they defeat? If you simply surrender in battle, then we can join forces and defeat Iago together. Wouldn’t you rather avoid as much bloodshed as possible?” 

“Even if I wanted to, how do you believe those under my command would react?” Kamui spat back with hostility. “They may respect me as their leader, but they don’t fight for me. They fight for Nohr. They fight for their people. How do you think they’d respond to their commander turning coat and going against a cause that they believe in?” 

“Then convince them! You’re an excellent orator and I’m sure that you can be persuasive if you wanted to. If they respect you so much, then surely they would understand your reasoning!” 

“And if they didn’t? What, you’d expect me to fight my soldiers? My companions? I could never raise my blade on them!” 

“Well, you don’t seem to take issue with that when it’s your own siblings!” 

Kamui drew her hand back and swung it forward in a split second, a loud _ smack _sounding throughout the room and leaving Corrin with a red mark across his cheek. He deeply inhaled before lowering himself further on the bed, determined not to turn this into a fight. 

“Kamui, listen.” 

“No. You don’t understand. You’ve _ never _ understood.” Kamui rose from her chair and jabbed her finger at the man sitting in front of her. “You are my brother, and I will never forget that. We have a bond that can never be broken. However, everyone else? Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura? I feel _ nothing _towards them. We may be related by blood, but I do not know them nor do I feel any sense of kinship with them. Nothing has changed the way I felt the day that Mother died.” 

Corrin raised a finger and scoffed, shaking his head. “And yet you just called her Mother. I think I know where your heart lies, Sister.” 

Kamui’s eyes widened when she realized her mistake, but Corrin spoke again before she could retort. “Tell me, how have you been since Garon passed?” 

“You…” she bit down on her tongue and tightly clenched her fist, her heart beginning to pound in her chest. “You truly knew nothing about him. You painted him as a monster when he was nothing of the sort. I can’t even begin to explain to you just how wrong you were.” 

“Maybe because I was right?” Corrin suggested with a shrug. “It hurt me too, you know. Finding out that the man I called Father was evil wasn’t easy, but I knew that I was on the side of good and he had no interest in what was right. It’s unfortunate that you haven’t realized that yet.” 

“Get out!” Kamui shouted, but Corrin had already risen and started to make his way over to the sigil. He knew when his sister had had enough. He sighed and spread his large wings, wrapping them around his body before looking his sister in the eye. 

“I’ll speak to you soon, Lilith. Sister, I hope that when next we speak, it will be under better circumstances.” He smiled at her and nodded. “It was good to see you again. Take care.”

Corrin was promptly bathed in light before disappearing entirely from the area. Lilith caught a glimpse of him soaring away from through the window and briefly wondered why he did not just return back to the material plane immediately, though she figured he must have wished to spend some time alone before doing so. 

“Um…” Lilith began. “You discussed the war, but you made no mention of Shigure. Why?” 

Kamui deeply inhaled, letting her arms fall loosely at her side and unclenching her fists, her entire body relaxing. “Leverage,” she responded. “He doesn’t know that I have possession of one of his, so therefore I have the advantage. Speaking of, let’s go pay him a visit, shall we? I’m curious as to why exactly he came to Nohr in the first place.” 

As Kamui made her way over to the sigil and beckoned Lilith to come with her, the Astral dragon looked at her with concern. It had been quite a while since she had seen Kamui cry and she expected her to do exactly that when Corrin left, and yet there was nothing. She figured it best to not think about it too much and simply took her hand on the sigil and warped out of the tree house with her, wondering what Shigure would have to say when they met with him.

* * *

“Considering what I’ve heard about you, I half expected you to have the guards here beat me to a bloody pulp before tossing me in here. Your hospitality is appreciated.” 

Shigure was on his knees in one of the cells in Castle Krakenburg’s dungeon, being held down by shackles attached to the ground. While his hair was mildly disheveled, he appeared to be in good condition. He smiled at all four of the women before him, though none were sure of his true intentions. 

“You say that you’re Azura’s daughter, hm? Prove it,” Camilla demanded as she stepped closer to his cell. Shigure frowned for the first time since arriving at the castle. 

“Can’t you tell just by looking at me? People always say that we resemble each other.” Kamui squinted at the boy and admitted to herself that he was right. He was the spitting image of the woman he claimed to be his mother. “Though, I suppose I can at least prove that I know her.” 

He cleared his throat and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before beginning. “_ You are the ocean’s gray waves… _”

Kamui’s heart jumped into her throat, her fingers stiffened, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. All of her senses went on high alert. It had been so long since she heard that song that she did not quite know how to react, and as such, she simply let her instincts take over. 

“STOP!” she shouted, startling her sisters as well as Lilith. Shigure promptly ceased his singing and opened his eyes before giving Kamui a curious look. “I don’t need to hear any more. I believe you.”

“Oh, well that’s good. I was afraid I was going to have to sing the whole song,” Shigure replied with a snicker. 

“Why are you here?” Elise inquired. “Do you have a message to deliver? Information? Are you turning against your country and choosing to fight with us?” 

Shigure moved his head from side to side and hummed for a moment. “Yes to all of those, really. Though, more specifically, I’ve come to show you all a little something. I can’t exactly do that when I’m chained up here, though.” 

“And why should we trust you in the first place?” asked Kamui. 

“Why, I have someone that can vouch for me, of course. Isn’t that right, auntie Lilith? You trust me, don’t you?” 

Lilith bit her thumbnail and stepped to the side, hiding behind Kamui. “Ugh…I’m supposed to be neutral in all this. None of you have to take my word for it, but if you want my opinion, then I think that Shigure is trustworthy. I don’t know why he’s come here, but he’s a good man. 

Taking a deep sigh, Kamui crossed her arms and promptly nodded. “Fine then. You have my attention. Don’t make me regret giving it to you.”

“Excellent! Does that mean that I can be released now? This is quite uncomfortable and I fear that my knees will bruise.” 

Kamui signalled for the nearby guard to open the cell and unlock Shigure’s shackles. After being freed, the young man rose to his feet and stretched, cracking his knuckles as well as some of his other joints. 

“Much better; you have my thanks. Now, would it be too much to ask that you accompany me to the lake just outside of Windmire?” 

“You’re trying our patience,” Camilla said as she ignited her fingertips. “None of us are in a joking mood.” 

Shigure held his hands up in defense and maintained his friendly smile. “I assure you that I do not jest. Won’t you trust me? Believe me, If I could explain it all to you in simple terms right here and now, I would.” 

The sisters exchanged glances with one another and Elise furrowed her brow, biting the inside of her cheek. “I cast a magic ward earlier,” she began. “He’s not under any spell like brainwashing or a disguise. He could still be lying, but if what Lilith says is true…” 

“Fine.” Kamui turned on her heel and began to walk towards the exit, her expression relaxed and steadfast. “If he tries anything, it’s not as if he stands an actual chance against the three of us. He’ll behave if he knows what’s good for him.” 

“And believe me, I do!” Shigure happily followed behind the princess, the other three women reluctantly in tow. 

Kamui remained suspicious, but she knew that she was fully capable of incapacitating anyone that dared cross her. With that knowledge in mind, she had no qualms about making the journey out of the castle and out of the Windmire crater, leaving the city’s borders and making her way towards what she would soon find to be an astonishing revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've done a lot of work on the upcoming chapters during the hiatus, so I do believe that we'll be able to keep the bimonthly upload schedule going. I thank you all for waiting so patiently! Tell me, have you been enjoying this fic so far? I've put a lot of work into it, so I hope it's giving a lot of people some joy, especially during this global pandemic. Either way, I welcome all comments and kudos, and as usual, have a good one!


	17. Valla

“Are you absolutely sure about this?” 

Standing opposite his mother atop a grassy bluff, Shigure stared at her with an uncertain expression. His pure white pegasus stretched its wings off to the side. The night sky was dotted with a million tiny stars and a large blue moon that bathed the lush grass in its white light. 

Azura pressed her lips together and gave a tentative nod. “Yes, I am. No matter how much it might pain me as well as your father and sister, your task is an important one. You know what you must do, yes?” 

“Of course, Mother. We’ve been through this a thousand times. However, I must wonder how everyone will handle my disappearance. And what if things don’t go well on my end? What if I’m shot down whilst flying over the border or captured and sent to the gallows? Then all your effort will be for naught.” Shigure’s face took on a despaired look as he continued to speak. 

The songstress shook her head. “No, that won’t happen. You’re a skilled enough flier to avoid anything they throw at you and Kamui is not the type of woman to execute someone right away. Simply tell her that you are my son and be transparent—entirely truthful. You are not one to lie, so I suspect that it won’t be difficult for you.” 

“Of course not, I fully intend on telling the truth, I only worry about the actions from the other end. I put the entirety of my faith in you, Mother. It’s those whom I do not know that I don’t trust.” 

Azura cupped her son’s face in her hands and gently urged him to kneel down so that they were at eye level. She then placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and smiled. “Worry not, little prince. Not an ounce of harm will come to you. Now, go. You have important work to do.” 

With a longing look as his face, Shigure did not take his eyes off his mother as he mounted his pegasus. They exchanged a silent vow with mutual nods before he looked to the sky and took off, disappearing into the sky above and leaving the woman standing there alone.

* * *

“Preposterous.” 

Jakob gazed in disbelief as Shigure disappeared into the lake, his head of blue hair being the last thing to be swallowed up by the murky water. Jakob’s hair had grown to be much longer than it originally was and his face had taken on a more masculine appearance, though nothing about his manner had changed over the years. He was still the same high-strung butler he had always been. 

Shigure had requested that everyone be present for his demonstration and Kamui granted his request, summoning all of her soldiers at once. To her pleasure, every last one of them was able to make it. 

Keaton—Camilla’s husband—wore a black vest over a white shirt with long sleeves and large brown boots. Alongside his fluffy black and white hair, he bore a rather short tail that protruded from a hole in the back of his trousers. He looked rather uncomfortable as Shigure disappeared into the lake, as did his daughter, Velouria. Velouria was a woman who dressed practically identical to her father, the only difference being that she forwent a vest in favor of a short red hooded cloak. Her canine ears were rather droopy and almost blended into her long silver hair complete with a streak of purple. Like her mother, she possessed a rather large bust. 

Next to them were Xander and his family. The man was now twenty-eight years of age and time had gifted him a short golden beard. As for his wife, Charlotte was a fair skinned woman with long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She wore a fitted set of silver armor that looked more fit for display than combat, though she seemed rather comfortable in it. Siegbert possessed his mother’s hair color and cut it rather short. He bore the appearance of a youthful young heir, which is exactly what he was. 

Arthur and Effie—whom time had left untouched—both appeared rather confused, the two of them leaning in to observe the water. Mozu had gotten a little taller, but still retained her baby face. She exchanged a nervous glance with her son and continued to carefully watch the water’s surface. 

A tired looking boy with messy icy blue hair and bags under his eyes groaned and tugged on Jakob’s sleeve. “Hey, Father,” he said rather lazily. “Do you really think he’s just messing with us? He hasn’t come up yet.” 

“It is magic, Dwyer! Anyone skilled in the arcane should be able to see that!” declared a petite young girl with auburn red hair. Like her father before her, she donned garbs fit for a classical Nohrian mage, which meant that the clothes she wore were rather revealing. Soleil snickered and shook her head, then placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Oh, Ophelia. I love you and all, but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything magical going on here. He’s just holding his breath. I can hold my breath way longer than he has, you know! It took a lot of practice, but—”

“Sunshine, stop talking. Just for a moment,” Laslow requested of his daughter. “Leo, you know a lot about this stuff. Seem like magic to you?” 

Leo’s appearance had remained relatively unchanged, the most significant difference being that he had abandoned his hairband and had grown his hair out so that it reached the nape of his neck. “I’m not sure,” he answered. “I could cast a magic detection ward, but that would take time. Really the best way to know is simply to wait.” 

As Leo finished his sentence, the entire party was shocked as Shigure resurfaced with a waiting expression. It was not the fact that he came back up that was surprising, no. It was the fact that he was completely dry. 

“You said you would follow me.” The young man frowned, but then shrugged his shoulders. “I know you don’t trust me, but it isn’t like you’ll die if you just walk into a lake. Really, it’s safe. I promise. Just close your eyes and continue forward.” 

Before anyone could answer, Shigure once again disappeared beneath the water’s surface. To no one’s surprise, the first to give in was Niles, who shrugged and kicked off his sandals before stepping towards the lake’s edge. 

“What’s the harm? Might as well trust the kid.” 

“Wait!” Nyx called as she extended her arm towards him. “Ah…I suppose I’ll go as well. If you start to drown, you’ll need someone to rescue you.” 

“Can you even swim?” Silas joked, then casually approaching the water. “You wanna stay behind, kids?”

“I’m going!” Kana quickly answered, immediately scampering over to his father’s side and standing next to him. His elder sister rolled her eyes, annoyed. 

“I’ll pass, thanks. Let me know what’s on the other side when you get back, yeah?”

Xander placed his large hand on Kamui’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes with a hardened look. “The four of us—we’re going with you, you know. We don’t know what that boy could have planned for you on the other side. I’m certain that you can protect yourself, but still. I would be more comfortable if we were all there.” 

The princess nodded in understanding. After some discussion, it was decided that the five royal siblings would be going along with Niles, Nyx, Kana, Keaton, Forrest, Soleil, and Ophelia. One by one they all walked down the muddy edge of the lake and into the murky water, vanishing below the surface. Kamui was the last to descend. 

“Good luck, Mother!” Sophie called with a smile. Kamui smiled in return before exchanging waves with Peri and nodding at Laslow. Finally, with a deep breath, the young woman closed her eyes and dove down. 

Kicking her legs, Kamui kept one hand on the hilt of her sword the entire time she swam. She may not have had her vision, but if anything were to touch her, she planned to draw her weapon and start slashing as best as she could completely submerged underwater. Despite Lilith putting in a good word for him, she remained wary of Shigure. He was still a stranger after all, even if he was technically her nephew. 

Kamui descended lower and lower for what seemed like forever, but in reality it was only around a minute or so. Finally, she opened her eyes to gauge how far the bottom of the lake was, only to be greeted with a white light shining through perfectly clear water. Immediately she was perplexed and suddenly realized that she was in fact swimming upwards, the light getting increasingly more bright until she finally surfaced and took in a deep breath of air. 

The gray clouds of Nohr were replaced with a clear blue sky. Lush green grass greeted the girl as she stepped out of the water—perfectly dry—and onto land. Silas looked back and smiled at her as a greeting before beckoning for her to come closer to where she was standing. The girl nodded and obliged, but nearly fell backwards upon seeing the edge of the area they were standing on. 

Ophelia was on her knees, gripping tightly onto the edge of the land and peering over down below. They appeared to be high in the sky, the clouds below them calmly drifting. All around them—both above and below—dozens upon dozens of floating islands of varying sizes remained stationary in the sky. Many of them had what appeared to be crumbling edifices on them, something that clued Kamui in to the fact that they were not the first ones to come here. 

“What in the world is all of this?” Soleil asked in awe. Her eyes were wide with fascination as she spun around, taking in the reality of what was around her. Shigure chuckled and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air with a smile.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began. “Welcome to Valla.”

* * *

Corrin was exhausted. 

After leaving the company of his sister and Lilith, he had spent some time flying around the Astral Plane to clear his mind. Over the years, he had found that flying was rather comforting. Seeing everything appearing so small from high up in the air and feeling the wind rush through his hair felt like heaven and it was a good way to get away from people and simply be alone through a while. It was not as if there were others in the air flying along with him after all, as Kara could not yet fly very high. However, soaring through the air was rather tiring. In addition to that, he had previously attended a rather long meeting with Yukimura and the rest of the Hoshidan war council that was quite mentally draining. He also had received a request from a merchant that was being exploited by his company, though he opted to outsource that task to Kotomi. She was rather adept in covert operations, after all. She had inherited her natural talent from her mother and evidently had picked up some of her father’s moves and strategies. 

The young man bit his tongue as he entered his home. He could hear Kara and Kagero laughing as they painted in his wife’s studio off to the side. While he was glad that they were spending time together, he did wish that he could have just a moment of Kagero’s time to relay some information from the war council meeting. Being careful not to disturb them, Corrin tiptoed past the entrance to the studio and continued on to his bedroom, pushing through the door and letting out a breath. 

“You’re home late.” 

Corrin nearly forced his head through the ceiling when he jumped in surprise, involuntarily sprouting his wings and causing them to knock over the lamp on his dresser. The decoration crashed against the floor loudly and he was certain that his wife and child had heard that along with his scream of surprise. 

“Corrin?” Kagero called, her voice carrying through the house. “You’re home? Are you alright? What happened?” 

“J-just knocked something over! I’m fine!” Corrin responded, his eyes fixed on the intruder sitting on his bed and kicking her legs. Azura had never made a habit of showing up unannounced, though she did seem to enjoy surprising people. She had certainly succeeded in this particular case, smiling at Corrin’s shock. “What are you doing here? Did Kara let you in?” 

The princess gestured to the open window on the back wall. “I wouldn’t expect you to be so careless. You’re a very powerful man, after all; one would think that you’d be more cautious. What if a thief were to slip in and steal the Yato? I know where you keep it, you know.” 

Corrin sighed and locked the bedroom door, running his fingers through his hair and dropping down into his chair. “That won’t happen. I had Orochi place a charm on this house years ago that alerts Kagero and I when anyone outside of a whitelist steps onto the premises.” 

“And what if they knew of this and eliminated Orochi? If the charm caster is dead then the charm dies with them.” 

“Azura, surely you haven’t come just to chastise me for my lack of paranoia. What is it?” 

She crossed her slender legs and tapped her finger on her chin, musing on a thought for a moment. “I wanted to speak with you. Since Shigure’s disappearance, I’ve—”

“I know you sent him to my sister, alright?” Corrin said rather abruptly. Azura’s eyebrows rose and her back stiffened. She blinked once before continuing. 

“I…how? How do you know of this? Did he tell you before he left?” she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes and starting to bounce her knee. “I know everyone trusts you with their lives, but I had thought that he would at the very least listen to his mother…I’m assuming he told you why?” 

“No, he didn’t. Let’s just say I have an informant and call it at that, shall we?” Corrin rose from his chair and walked over to his bed, where he sat down next to Azura and leaned in close. “Tell me, what do you wish to gain from this? What’s the point?” 

Azura stared at her knees and inhaled deeply. She had thought that her plan would go off without a hitch, but apparently she could not be given even that. 

“I want to even the playing field,” she said, biting her tongue immediately afterwards. “I have—we have knowledge that they do not, and it isn’t fair.” 

“Even the playing field,” Corrin repeated in a mutter as his eyes thinned. “Azura…you do know we’re at war, yes? That isn’t exactly something you  _ want  _ in this situation.” 

“You don’t understand!” Azura said with a shaky breath, quickly rising to her feet and turning to face her commander. “I of course support our victory in the war, but I can’t very well just let Nohr crumble! Your Nohrian siblings—you care about them, yes? If you do, then you must come to understand my decision?” 

Corrin was rather confused. What in the world was Azura talking about? 

“Crumble? Azura, you’re being hysterical. What do you mean?” 

The songstress groaned, pulling at her hair in frustration. Azura was usually not one to wear her emotions on her sleeve like this, so Corrin was surprised to see her be so expressive. 

“I can’t…”

“You can’t,” Corrin confirmed. “Azura, you know I trust you with my life, but you’re being rather suspicious. If you’re conspiring against Hoshido, then…”

Suddenly, Azura grabbed Corrin’s hand and pulled him towards the door, roughly opening it and continuing onward. “Wh-what? Azura, what are you—”

“I must show you!” Azura said as she bounded down the hallway and towards the front door. Glancing back, Corrin saw Kagero’s head poking out from her studio and threw her a desperate expression, but she simply stared and gave him a thumbs up. It was Azura, so he figured that she thought everything was fine. The prince silently cursed his wife’s lack of concern over him being dragged off before Azura burst through the front door and slammed it behind her, ceasing her running before standing before Corrin and extending her arms to wrap them around his neck. 

“A-Azura!” 

“Carry me. Fly to the lake outside of the castle. You can do that, right?” she asked.

The look in her eyes made Corrin feel uneasy, as did her request. He was still rather exhausted from the day’s previous events and could feel his eyelids growing heavy. 

“I’ve never flown with a passenger before, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult.” He looked up at the sky and watched the slowly setting sun dipping below the horizon. “It’s getting late as well. Whatever this is, can’t it wait?” 

“Corrin.” The blue haired woman tightly clutched Corrin’s collar, her golden eyes gazing deep into his. “Please. For both of our sakes. Put your trust in me.” 

The pair stared at one another for several moments before Corrin sighed, putting his arms behind Azura’s legs and picking her up bridal style. His large white wings sprouted to their full length before rising so that the tips were aimed towards the sky. Corrin slightly squatted before taking a deep breath. Then, he jumped in the air while simultaneously bringing his wings all the way down and taking to the sky, leaning forward and spreading his wings once again to glide through the air. 

The wind made his squinted eyes water and Azura’s hair frequently obscured his vision, but he managed to keep rather steady while flying. While he had been tired, the rush of flying so high in the air as well as the risk of dropping Azura certainly woke him up. Below him, he could make out the city of Shirasagi preparing for nightfall. Shops were closing their doors, merchants were taking down their stands, and children were being ushered back into their homes by their parents and older siblings. After a few minutes, Castle Shirasagi came into sight and Corrin began to slow his speed, slightly bending his wings inwards.

“Wait,” Azura began. “I want you to dive into the lake. This height should be enough.”

Corrin thinned his eyes before taking them off of the space ahead of him to look at Azura. “You…what? That would kill us. We would die. Just because it’s water doesn’t make it safe, you know. I could just land near the shore—”

“Do it,” Azura demanded rather firmly, squeezing her eyes shut. “If we were to fall in at the right angle, we would only be injured. It won’t matter, though. Just do it, please. I wish I could tell you why, but…” 

“It’s fine.” Corrin sent a brief prayer to the gods before readying himself, making sure he was holding Azura tightly enough before steadying his flying. “I hope whatever this is is worth it…” 

As they approached the lake, Corrin began to descend. First, he leaned forward and glided down with his wings keeping him steady. When he picked up a satisfactory speed, he bit his tongue and retracted his wings, leaning back so that he was falling upright. The wind roared in his ears as he fell and Azura’s nails dug into his back, but he knew that panicking would only lower his chances of survival. The water’s surface was fast approaching and Corrin’s heart rate increased with every passing moment. He trusted Azura with his life, but her being so cryptic did little to ease his nerves. 

Corrin forced himself to keep his eyes open as they fell farther and farther, the lake getting closer and closer. After what seemed like an eternity, the two of them were finally plunged into the water and swallowed up by the darkness.

* * *

“You’re all aware of the legend of the Dusk and Dawn Dragons, aren’t you?” 

While the rest of the group took in the sheer magnificence of the terrain around them, Shigure just stared at the sky. There was not a single floating mass of land directly above them, allowing the sun’s light to bathe Shigure’s face in warmth. Kana peered over the edge of the island they were on with stars in his eyes and a wide grin on his face. 

“This…” Nyx began. “I’ve only heard of places like this in fiction. None of my studies could have prepared me for this.” 

“Valla, you said?” Niles asked. “Never heard of it. Care to explain?” 

Shigure chuckled, finally looking down from the sky. “My apologies, it seems that no one was listening. The Dusk and Dawn Dragons—you all know their tale, yes?” 

“Of course,” Ophelia answered. “They were twins who fought for control of the continent and ended up splitting their rule between Nohr and Hoshido. They died of old age, like all dragons eventually do.”

Shigure smirked and turned to face his audience. “Ah, so the legend goes. Allow me to tell you the  _ true  _ story.”

“True story?” Kana got up from the ground and raised an eyebrow at Shigure. “What do you mean? That  _ is  _ the true story—or at least what our religion is based on. What, are you saying that there’s another version?” 

“Why, of course. Every story is different depending on how you choose to look at it. As for what actually happened…” Shigure took a few steps closer towards everyone else and cleared his throat, preparing for a long speech. “Among the First Dragons at the beginning of time was a pair of twins, Cadros and Vadros. Cadros was the kind, gentle brother—Vadros the feisty, aggressive sister. Above all the First Dragons, was their king, Anankos. Anankos favored the twins and as such bestowed upon them the gift of his own blood, imbuing them with great power. With this power, the siblings created  _ our  _ world, and with it, man. However, that isn’t to say that Valla did not come to have its own human inhabitants. Using the power of dragon veins as well as their own skills, a vast kingdom was built from the ground up. The Vallites lived in peace alongside the First Dragons, though over time…the vast majority of them succumbed to fate that awaits all dragons. Madness.” 

“Madness?” Kamui repeated with thinned eyes. “What do you mean?” 

“I mean what I say. Madness.” Shigure sighed and closed his eyes, a downtrodden expression on his face. “As the centuries passed, all of the dragons’ minds deteriorated. Not even I know why, but it happens to all dragons eventually. Some day, even Lilith will have to face it.” The young man shook his head and dismissed the thought. “Never mind that. With this madness came incredible destruction, and the Vallites were forced to eliminate any dragon whose minds showed signs of degeneration. Led by Cadros as well as Vadros, each of the dragons were struck down one by one by the Vallites until all that remained were the twins and Anankos. Eventually, the madness came for Anankos himself.”

Keaton interjected, scratching behind his large ears. “Wait, not even the big guy himself was immune? What’s up with that?” 

“I’m afraid I do not know. Perhaps it is just a law of existence that no dragon is immune to?” Shigure shrugged. “Either way, this began a conflict between the twins. Vadros, while pained over her father’s inevitable demise, felt that he had to be dealt with like any other dragon. Meanwhile, Cadros was much more empathetic and employed a sect of humans to start coming up with a way to stop the madness from progressing too far. Eventually, they were able to conjure something that would help keep the madness at bay, but could not stop it.” The man held up the pendant around his neck. “Only two of these pendants were crafted due to the immense power needed to create them. When used in combination with a special song, it would be able to temporarily quell Anankos’ fits of rage. One was given to Cadros, the other to his sister. They were able to harness its power with no difficulty, but when used by humans…well, it certainly takes a toll on the body.” 

Kamui’s heart caught in her throat the moment Shigure said the word “song”. Surely he was speaking of the song Azura was singing when she first laid eyes on her—the same song used to subdue Kamui when she had initially taken her dragon form. 

“Despite the pendants’ power, it was not enough to cure Anankos, but only prolong his degeneration. As such, Vadros gathered those who would go against their god and took up arms, advancing on him with the intent to take his life. Cadros, however, defended him with the support of those willing to fight in defense. Countless lives were lost, and eventually, all that was left of the combatants were the twins themselves. They did not get to fight it out, though. In his rage that his subjects would even think to attack him, Anankos killed them both…he was alone. The last of the First Dragons. Their descendants were still around, of course, but he was it when it came to the originals.” 

“Vadros and Cadros went on to be known as the Dusk and Dawn Dragons, right?” Forrest asked. “One founded Nohr and the other Hoshido while visiting, um, ‘our’ world. They divided the continent up into two.” 

“Right you are, cousin,” Shigure answered with a smirk. “After that, Anankos sealed himself away in a cave and was rarely seen.” He looked to Kamui and his smirk slowly turned to a frown. “This is where you come in, Princess.”

“Me?” Kamui blurted out with wide eyes. “What does an old legend have to do with me? A-are you about to say that I’ve reached the stage in my life where I’ll begin to grow mad?”

“No no, of course not. You and Corrin are a special case, so I’m not sure if that rule even applies to you. However…in one last effort to find a way to put a permanent end to his madness, Anankos took a portion of his soul and put it into a human vessel he created. This in turn created two versions of him in a way; one known as the Silent Dragon, and the other simply Anankos. This new Anankos soon grew to be loved by what remained of the Vallites, and eventually he became the new king of Valla. After many centuries, he took on a wife and together they had a daughter.” Shigure bit his lip and turned his eyes to the grass, pausing for a few moments before continuing. “When she was born, they named her…Mikoto.” 

Kamui felt as if she had been landed on by a wyvern. 

Xander grit his teeth and glared at the mysterious man. “You lie!” 

“I’m afraid not. Allow me to continue, if you will. I promise it will all make sense when I’m finished. Princess?”

The dragon felt the eyes of her siblings boring into her soul, but held her tongue between her teeth and forced herself to nod. “Yes, please. Continue.”

“You have my thanks. This new princess spent the majority of her life in Valla, but was forced to flee to Hoshido after a coup was staged by a woman named Arete. She murdered the queen at the time and took the throne, becoming Valla’s one and only ruler after Anankos supposedly disappeared. This woman is…well, my grandmother.” 

Leo scoffed. “And you’ve lost me. Anankos just up and disappeared? You’re getting into the realm of fiction now.” 

“I can verify this, though. In pursuit of Mikoto, Arete temporarily left Valla and ended up in Nohr. Still seeking power, she bedded King Garon and birthed my mother. Surely you must remember at least a little bit of her, Prince Xander. Tall woman, blue hair, always wore a pendant just like mine?” 

As much as he did not wish to face the truth, Xander closed his eyes and looked back into his early years. “I do. She was not often around Azura. She preferred spending her time with my father than her own daughter. Though, I never saw her again not long after Kamui arrived and Azura was taken. Do you know what happened to her?” 

Shigure shrugged. “My mother’s theory is that she returned to Valla. All she remembers was being woken in the middle of the night and given our pendants before Arete vanished. Neither of us know why she did not just kill Mikoto once she married King Sumeragi and ascended the throne. We have to assume she had a change of heart.”

“So could my mother transform into a dragon as well? If the blood of Anankos runs through our veins, then surely she must have been able to,” Kamui asked in a shaky breath. “Then why did she…on the day that she died, why did she not transform to save both me  _ and  _ herself? Why did she allow herself to die?”

“She probably had no reason to have a dragonstone on her if she needed one to transform,” Kana suggested. “Even if she did, if she changed into a dragon in front of everyone, she’d have a lot of explaining to do to everyone.” 

“What’s so bad about that?” Elise asked with a frown. “Actually, why tell us this now? Why wait so long? Why did you have to take us here?” 

Shigure stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders, pursing his lips. “Over the past couple of years, my mother and I have been…well, studying. Looking into Arete’s personal belongings, scholarly texts, and whatever we could find here. There’s a library not too far from where we are now…but my mother came here for the first time shortly before she met Kamui and Corrin. She’d always known that she could, just never felt the need to until she heard of their arrival. As for your first and last questions, princess…in order to keep himself safe, Anankos put a curse in place on all residents of Valla.” He sighed before continuing. “If anyone were to speak of this place outside of its domain, they would simply…vanish. If I were to even say the word ‘Valla’ outside of this place, I would disappear right then and there. It’s happened to a few people before.” 

Camilla groaned and put her fingers to her temple. “I’m sorry, but this is a lot to take in. I still have so many questions…what point are you getting at? We know the truth now, yes, but why come all the way to Hoshido to tell us this?” 

Shigure’s expression darkened and he looked the princess directly in her eyes. “Because I need you to know who you are truly fighting against.”

“Eh?” Soleil tilted her head with a frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Your current king,” Shigure put bluntly. “Iago. He’s a Vallite himself as well as one of the Silent Dragon’s subjects. From what my mother could gather, he ah…took control of the former king years ago and used him as a puppet up until his passing.” 

Xander scowled upon hearing this. He had always assumed that Iago had a hand in his father’s growing cruelty over the years, but to have it confirmed by someone else only furthered his contempt for the wretched little worm. 

“That is what I suspected.”

“What he’s doing as we speak is enacting the will of the Silent Dragon himself. He wishes for the followers of both Cadros as well as Vadros to fall. That’s why this whole war was started in the first place.” Shigure sighed once more and slowly sat down on the soft grass, his eyes closed. “If it keeps on going on like this, Hoshido and Nohr will end up destroying each other and doing exactly what Anankos wants.” 

“And what exactly are we supposed to do about that?” Niles asked with an inquisitive look. “I know there’s some royalty among us—I count three princesses and three princes just here—but the rest of us are just soldiers. What do you expect us to do?” 

“That would be the hard part.” Shigure groaned and looked up at Kamui to look her in the eyes, then holding up two fingers. “I have two options to propose to you. One is much more difficult than the other. Option one is to revolt against your king and overthrow him. I know that he is powerful, but with all of your strength united against one individual, I’m sure that you’ll all be fine. How does that sound?” 

The siblings exchanged conflicted looks with each other. Not one of them said a word, but they had discussed this enough times over the years to know what their thoughts were. Kamui looked back to Shigure and shook her head. 

“We have already decided that we won’t be doing that. It’s far too risky. None of us wish for any of our companions to be put in such danger, nor do we wish to lie to the people of Nohr. They would not believe us if we were to tell the truth and the country would likely fall into anarchy. I’m sorry, but no.”

The Hoshidan grimaced, but he nodded nonetheless. “That’s what I thought you’d say. In that case…option two. Continue on with the war as planned, somehow defeat Hoshido, and have Iago sit on the throne. It’s a very special throne of Vallite origin. Only those with a pure heart can sit upon it without perishing. Considering the man in question…well, you see what I mean.”

Kamui pressed her lips together and took a step towards the man before her. “Then why not tell Hoshido to surrender? If we—”

Her younger brother interrupted with a scoff. “Come now, Kamui. You know that Iago would have every village on the campaign path razed and pillaged. They can’t very well just  _ let  _ us win.” 

The princess closed her eyes and mused on the notion for a moment. As usual, Leo was right. 

“Then we continue on with the war as planned. Though, this new information will be helpful for us.” Xander gave a smile of gratitude. “Thank you, Shigure. Your journey to Nohr must have been hard and you certainly were not welcome with open arms, but you haven’t complained even once. I’m glad to see that Azura’s son grew into such a fine young man.” 

“Well, she is in her thirties. My mother has a lot of life experience, so it’s only natural that she would be good at raising me.”

Kamui appeared to be slightly taken aback, her eyes wide and her brow raised. “Wait, what? Just how old is she?” 

“Azura? She should be thirty-one right now—three years older than me,” Xander answered. 

“Azura is  _ older  _ than you?!” Elise drew in a long breath and put her hands on her cheeks in shock. “Why don’t any of us know this?!” 

Camilla frowned. “We never saw her much, truthfully. By the time I was five, we all more or less appeared to be around the same age. I’ll admit that not even I was aware of this fact…” 

Kamui cleared her throat, wanting to clear the thought of Azura being six whole years older than her out of her mind. “E-either way…I presume you’ll be returning to Hoshido when we return?” 

“Hm? Oh, no. I’ll be fighting with you if you’ll allow it. You need someone with knowledge of Valla and its history and I am that someone.” Shigure grinned. “Meanwhile, Hoshido has my mother. It evens the playing fields rather well, wouldn’t you say?” 

“So does that mean the Hoshidans also know all the stuff you just told us?” Keaton asked. 

Shigure made up his face and shrugged in response. “I don’t know. Mother never made it clear what her intentions were with her side; she only asked me to journey to Nohr and relay this information to you as well as lend you my aid in combat should that be a necessity. I fight best on a pegasus, by the way.” 

Kamui nodded in understanding. At the current moment, the only fliers in her brigade were Camilla and Beruka—and they were both on wyverns. While hardy and powerful, wyverns were not as fast or agile as pegasi could be. If Shigure was a good soldier, then he would prove to be a valuable asset. 

“Well…ugh. I’ll have Lilith be sure to write all this down when we return. Shigure, welcome to the Nohrian army. Keep in mind that if you are found to be planning or partaking in any form of treason, you won’t be given any special treatment.” 

The Hoshidan’s grin grew as Kamui spoke. “As expected. Now then, shall we return to our realm? Any questions?” 

Those present stood in silence for a few moments, mostly taking the time to process the information that had just been dumped on them. Kamui shook her head. “I believe that we are all satisfied for now, but expect questions in due time. I suppose we can return home now.” The princess once again scanned the area, this time frowning. “How exactly would we do that?” 

Shigure chuckled before taking a few steps towards the edge of the island, waving, and throwing himself off. “Make sure there’s nothing below you!!!” he shouted as he plummeted into the seemingly endless sky below. 

The person who appeared to be the most amused by this was Niles, who scooped Nyx up into his arms and began to walk to where Shigure had jumped. Nyx did not protest, instead holding on tighter to her husband. 

“If we can walk into a lake, we can jump off of a floating island. I’ll see you all on the other side!” And with that, the man leapt off, both him and his wife screaming all the way down. 

Kamui looked to Kana, who bore quite the uneasy expression. She smiled at him and took his hand. 

“Are you okay?” 

“W-well…I can swim, so the lake was nothing, but I don’t like heights…” the usually confident boy answered, biting his thumbnail. “My legs feel wobbly just from thinking about it.” 

“That makes sense. I’m not the biggest fan of heights, either. I have something that’ll help alleviate the feeling.” The princess sprouted her wings from her back and Kana’s eyes lit up. Her wings had grown slightly over the years, something that pleased her son greatly. 

Kana simply adored being a dragon and greatly admired his mother’s control of her draconic side. At this point, Kamui did not even need a dragonstone and only used one for nostalgia’s sake. Kana’s own dragon form was only about the size of a horse while Kamui’s was much larger, so the boy longed to one day achieve the size that his mother possessed.

“We may not be able to fly, but we can certainly glide.” 

With a wide grin on his face, Kana deployed his much smaller wings—the dragonstone on his waistband glowing—and took his mother’s hand. “When I say go, yeah?” 

“Take as long as you’d like.”

“Alright! Three…two…one…go!” 

Kicking off of the island’s edge, Kamui felt Kana squeeze her hand as he screamed while plummeting downwards into the sky below. The thermals of the wind caught both pairs of wings and raised them up. After that, they were able to smoothly glide down even through the clouds, laughing gleefully for their entire descent.

* * *

Corrin’s stare seemed to reach the edge of the planet itself. 

Azura sat next to him on the steps leading up to the door of his home, a troubled yet relieved expression on her face. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes with a long exhale. 

“Are you alright?” she asked.

The prince waited for a few moments before blinking and snapping himself back to reality. Focusing on the half moon in the sky, Corrin found the will within himself to calm his nerves. 

“I am,” he replied. “It’s…it’s a lot, I’m sorry.” 

“No need. You should have seen the look on my face when I saw you and Kamui at the pond all those years ago. I had heard so much about you growing up and read even more from Mikoto’s old diary. Shigure and I…we’ve discovered a lot.” 

“Why Shigure? I understand that he is your son—your own flesh and blood—but Midori was an option, wasn’t she?”

Azura shook her head. “Midori was always a more delicate soul. Bless her, but I’ve never thought that she would be mature enough to handle it all. Shigure on the other hand is older as well as more grounded. Considering how things have gone thus far, I believe I made the right choice. I would have enlisted Kaze’s help, but he’s always so busy. And then there’s you…well, in addition to you also always being busy, I felt it was far too personal.” 

“Me? Azura, we’re talking about your  _ mother  _ here. I may have been raised in part by him, but Garon was your actual father. This is as much about you as it is about me.” 

Azura sat up straight and opened her eyes, meeting Corrin’s. “You may be right about that. It was my duty to look into this whole thing, though. Once I read that letter from my mother all those years ago, I knew that I had to gather as much information as I can.” She took Corrin’s hand into her own and squeezed. “All of that was in service of our end goal. We’re going to win this, Corrin. We’ll defeat our true enemy and bring peace to the realm, I promise.” 

Smiling at his sister’s reassuring words, Corrin felt his heart relax even further. That is, until his ears picked up the sound of a twig snapping. He quickly whipped his head around only to find his eldest daughter standing there, her hands behind her back and a red tint on her face. 

“Kotomi? Do you need something?” he asked. 

Kotomi awkwardly kicked at the dirt and stared at her feet, biting her lip. “Ah…why are you and Auntie Azura sitting like that?” 

The duo quickly realized the position they were in and immediately created a small amount of distance between them, their hands in their lap. Corrin and Azura could sometimes be rather affectionate towards one another, which often led to misunderstandings from strangers and occasionally even their allies. Both Kagero as well as Kaze knew this fact all too well though, so there was no suspicion of adultery to be had.

“We were just talking, sweetheart,” Corrin answered. Kotomi slowly nodded in understanding, though her father could tell that she was not entirely convinced. “Was there something you wanted?” 

“Well…” The young girl glanced back at her house before facing her father. “Mother wanted to check on you, but didn’t want to leave Kara alone. So, she sent me.” 

Corrin waved his hands and stood up. “Oh, you don’t have to be a messenger for your mother. I can talk to her myself. Azura, would you like to come?” 

The songstress shook her head no and stood as well, dusting . “No, I think I should be getting home. It’s already rather late.” She waved goodbye at the father-daughter pair and began to walk down the hill. “Say goodnight to Kagero and Kara for me. Farewell, you two.” 

The both of them waved as Azura walked down the path towards the town. They then turned around and started making their way towards the front door. “So, how was your mission today? Did it go well?”

Kotomi gave a single nod in response. “It was fine. No casualties. The target surrendered when he recognized me.” She pressed her lips together as her cheeks began to take on a pink tint. “Apparently, we look alike. He said that I uh…have your eyes.” 

Corrin grinned against his will. “Did he? Well, I’ll take that as a compliment. You have beautiful eyes, after all.”

A small smile broke out on Kotomi’s face—something that Corrin always loved to see. She was not a girl that smiled often, so it was rather refreshing when she did. Of his daughters, Kana was always the more bright and bubbly of the two while Kotomi leaned more towards the reserved side. He had no idea why; it was not as if the two were raised any differently. It seemed that the sisters simply had differing outlooks on life. Kana was the energetic optimist while Kotomi was the quiet realist. It made Corrin a little sad that his eldest daughter never truly opened up, though he was sure that she had her reasons. 

When they stepped through the front door, the pair was greeted by Kagero and Kara. While the short dragon girl wore a gleeful expression on her face—ever ecstatic to see her Father—the seasoned ninja looked more concerned. 

“Is everything alright? You were barely home five minutes before leaving with Azura. I wasn’t worried at first considering the person in question, but then you were gone so long…” Kagero pulled Corrin into a hug and pressed her face into his chest before stepping back.

Corrin let out a breath and smoothed his hair back before smiling at his wife and daughter. “Everything is going fine. We’ll ah…we’ll discuss it later.” 

“Papa, Papa!” Kara began, practically bouncing like a spring. “Guess what? Big sis and I are officially members of the Hoshidan army! We worked it all out with Yukimura while you were gone!” 

The young man kept a smile, but his ever attentive wife could see it falter for just a moment. Corrin felt his stomach drop. It made sense. At thirteen, Kara just barely met the minimum age requirement that the army had put in place decades prior, but in Corrin’s mind, she was still just his little girl. She was tiny and frail—even if she  _ could  _ transform into a dragon just like him. Even Kotomi worried him in spite of her admirable combat capabilities. His daughters were the most precious things in the world to him, so the idea of them setting out and fighting the good fight alongside him and his comrades did not sit right with him. What if they were to get hurt? What if he failed to protect them? 

Kotomi frowned at her little sister. “Kara, you said I could tell him…” 

Covering her mouth, Kara looked to Kotomi with wide eyes. “Oh! I did! Sorry, sorry! I just got so excited!” 

Pushing his woes aside, Corrin joyfully laughed before kneeling down and taking hold of Kara under her arms before lifting her high in the air and spinning her around. “That’s wonderful! I’m so proud of you both!” 

Kara giggled as she was spun around while Kotomi slightly smiled. Even Kagero could not help but grin at the sight of her daughter having the time of her life. Kara’s joy was contagious, after all. 

“Oh oh oh! Something else!” Kara kicked her feet to signal that she wished to be lowered and immediately sprinted into the house with her arms stretched out. Almost immediately, she came running back out, this time holding a large canvas against her chest with the backside facing forward. “Mama and I painted this for you! We worked reeeally hard on it, so I hope you like it!” 

Leaning back, Kara flipped the canvas over to display the painting that she and Kagero had created. With wide eyes, Corrin stared in awe. The painting was a wonderful depiction of his family standing atop a lush green hill they lived atop before a vibrant sunset painted in gorgeous orange and yellow. Both in their dragon forms, Corrin and Kara stood front and center next to each other. The depiction of Kara was accurate to reality, with her form being rather small and slender compared to Corrin’s large and muscular body. At Corrin’s right was Kagero standing in a dynamic pose with her katana at the ready. Meanwhile at Kara’s right was Kotomi, looking much more fierce than she usually did and wielding several shurikens between her fingers. 

“Gods!” Corrin exclaimed, his smile growing larger and larger by the second. “You two did this? All in one day!” 

“Mhm, mhm!” Kara answered proudly as she rapidly nodded her head. Even her older sister smiled at her work. “Mama did the lines and I did the colors! Do you like it?”

With a more than pleased grin, Corrin knelt down and pulled his daughter into a tight hug. “Of course I do, sweetheart! Excellent job to both you and your mother. Kagero, we’re hanging this in our bedroom, aren’t we?” 

“Naturally,” Kagero replied with a soft smile. “It’s something that we both worked hard on, so I of course would want to display it. Kotomi, you and I should paint together sometime.” 

Giving a small gasp, Kotomi bit her lip and nervously blinked several times, aiming her eyes at the grass below. “Oh, no, I shouldn’t. I’ve never been good at painting.” 

“Well, you don’t improve at anything without practice,” Corrin pointed out as he stood up straight. “I was pretty lousy at adapting to becoming a ninja like your mother, but I got the hang of it eventually. Do you  _ want _ to get better at painting?” 

Kotomi took several moments to respond, during which all three other pairs of eyes were fixed on her. “Um…not really. I don’t find it all that fun.” 

“That’s fine,” Kagero began. “What do you find fun, then?” 

Kotomi was not used to getting so much attention, so she did not quite know how to respond. It was usually Kana who was showered in affection and adoration, so to be asked such a heavy question by her mother was new. 

“I guess I like singing…” 

“Oh! Then we can sing together, then. A little father-daughter bonding, yes?” Corrin watched with pleased eyes as he saw Kotomi smile and slowly nod; it was rare to see her this happy. “That can wait until a later date, though. For now, let’s put this painting up. What does everyone say to heading into town for dinner? Does that sound good?” 

Kana cheered as her mother and sister nodded their heads, then running back into the house to set her creation down. It soothed Corrin’s heart to be able to spend time with his family, though deep down he knew that this peace would not last. It could not last—not with Kamui and her army still out there. 

Not with Iago still alive. 


	18. In The White Light

Ever since their return from Valla, Kamui had noted that some of her comrades had not been acting like themselves.

Today was to be the first of many attacks against Hoshido in an effort to weaken their forces. Iago had ordered it only yesterday and already Kamui and her soldiers were expected to advance. She found it ridiculous, though did not have time to be upset about it due to her thoughts being preoccupied with concern for her friends. 

She had made certain that everyone in her brigade had been taken to Valla and given the run-down of the situation at hand so that they were all well informed on their goals. She was not surprised that everyone agreed with the plan. They were all good people, after all, and would naturally consider the greater context of the war rather than pledge allegiance to Iago. This brought the princess great joy as well as confidence, but she could not help but worry over three individuals in particular. 

Kamui did not like the looks exchanged between Selena, Laslow, and Odin when they emerged from the lake. She was positive that they were hiding something. All three of them had a past shrouded in mystery, but Kamui had never paid that fact any mind out of respect. Now, however, she was curious. 

Selena had been much less abrasive and quippy in the days since the visit to Valla. Laslow had been less talkative. Odin less theatrical. Kamui was reassured that she was not just imagining things by Peri approaching her the day before to ask about Laslow. Apparently he had been acting rather distant towards her, which worried the girl greatly. He had also been not putting his best effort into a certain aspect of their relationship that Kamui would have rather not heard about, but the damage was done. She promised her friend that she would approach him about the subject and that was exactly what she intended to do. 

When she entered the Castle Krakenburg armory early that morning, she did find the man she was looking for. Instead, she was met with the lovely couple of Odin and Selena, who sat opposite each other on parallel benches. Upon noticing her presence, Odin cleared his throat and sat up straight with a smile. 

“Ah! Princess Kamui, daughter of Mikoto and Sumeragi as well as wielder of one of the legendary Yato! How may I help you on this fine morning?” Odin asked in his signature boisterous tone. Selena sighed and continued to buckle the straps on her boots. As usual, she did not look like she was in the mood for conversation. 

Kamui gave a friendly smile in an attempt to get Selena to stop being so mopey, but to no avail. Brushing it aside, she opted to speak to Odin directly. 

“Good morning, Odin. I was wondering if you’ve seen Laslow around? I'd like to speak to him about something.” 

“Oh? You seek my comrade, Laslow of the Azure Skies? Alas, I know not where he may be. Perhaps he has already made his way to the convoy and is ready for the battle ahead. Worry not, my dear wife and I will be ready in due time.”

With a nod of understanding, Kamui took another step forward. “I see. In that case, I suppose I can just ask the both of you. I was wondering if you’ve been well these past few days. Ever since you came back from ah…that other place with Shigure, I’ve noticed that the three of you haven’t been acting like you usually do. Is something the matter?” 

Odin’s confident smile quickly shifted into an ambivalent frown. “Uh…what ever could you mean, Lady Kamui?” 

Kamui frowned as well. “You all seem to be in rather low spirits. I’ve known you long enough to tell when something is bothering you. Please, tell me. That is, if you’re comfortable with it.” 

The expression on Odin’s face told Kamui she had hit the bullseye and that the man before her was very clearly hiding something. He scratched at the back of his hand and looked to his wife on the bench, who matched his gaze with a blank one of her own. Finally, he met Kamui’s eyes once again and smiled with a deep breath. 

“I appreciate your concern, Kamui, but we’re all fine, really. It’s nothing you should worry yourself over.” Odin only ever dropped his over-the-top persona every once in a blue moon, but the princess of Nohr had come to learn that he only did so when he was completely serious. Unbeknownst to them, she had caught a few glimpses of him and Selena having rather intimate conversations among the castle grounds and was always surprised at how compassionate Odin could be. On the other hand, while Selena was usually cold and abrasive, she seemed to be incredibly warm under all that ice. For this reason, the words she spoke next did not shock Kamui much.

“There’s no reason not to tell her,” she mumbled. Odin’s eyes went wide and Kamui raised her brow in interest. 

“Hm? Tell me what exactly?” 

Shaking his head quickly, Odin forced a smile and closed his eyes. “D-don’t mind her! She’s talking nonsense! Gee, Selena. Maybe being married to me has had a bad effect on you!” 

“I’m serious,” Selena said in a sigh, rising to her feet and pushing back one of her pigtails. “If it’s just her, it’s fine. It would probably make this all easier on us, at least.” 

After a few moments of silence, Odin thinned his eyes at the feisty redhead. “Are you sure? Don’t you think we should ask Laslow before making a decision?”

“You think he’d be upset? He’s the one that probably wants to do this the most out of the three of us.” Selena took a step forward and looked into Kamui’s eyes, her own expression showing signs of weariness. “Lilith is doing stuff over in the Astral Plane right now, right? Do me a favor and call her here, would ya?”

While nodding politely and maintaining her usual collected demeanor, Kamui was fairly eager to hear whatever it was the couple had to tell her. As such, she made quick work of popping into the Astral Plane and locating her ever faithful attendant, who stepped into the armory with her signature smile. 

“Kamui tells me you called?” Lilith asked as Kamui closed the portal. Her smile wavered upon noticing that they were the only people in the room, however, she forced herself to maintain it as to not arouse suspicion. 

Selena pointed a finger at Lilith, then to Kamui. “Tell her,” she demanded bluntly. “We’re going over everything, which means that we need you here.” 

Lilith pursed her lips, immediately dropping her friendly demeanor and thinning her golden eyes at the enigmatic retainers. “…Are we now? Any particular reason why? Note that I’ve been here much longer than you, so I may be more reluctant to give up these secrets now.” 

“Because what’s the point of keeping it to ourselves anymore? How much longer until we’re done? Months? Years? It’s not like we can stay here forever,” Selena answered with a scoff. Odin rubbed his arm awkwardly while Kamui crossed her own. 

“I’m still here, you know. I don’t appreciate being excluded from conversation.” 

Lilith let out a deep sigh before turning around to face her liege, giving her a small bow before speaking. “Kamui, you know I love you with all my heart, so I have to say sorry for keeping this from you for all these years. Know that I never meant any harm by this and only wished you keep you safe.” 

Odin shook his head and closed his eyes, evidently dreading the conversation to come. “I suppose now is as good a time as any, what with her knowing about Anankos and all…” 

Immediately, Kamui felt her heart stopped and let out a gasp as her eyes widened. A torrent of emotions washed over her in a split second, from shock to fear to sorrow to confusion. Her face felt hot and her breath caught in her throat. Shigure had said that anyone who spoke of Anankos or Valla outside of the hidden kingdom would cease to exist, and yet…Odin was…still standing? 

“Odin,” she began in a small voice. “You…what? I’m confused. Was Shigure lying about—”

“No!” Selena shouted, making sure that Kamui cut her sentence short. “He wasn’t. Don’t speak about any of that stuff or you really will vanish. The only reason Odin and I can talk about it freely is because…well, we’re not exactly from this world.” 

Kamui was not quite sure she heard the mercenary correctly. Her ears twitched and she tilted her head. 

“Come again?” 

“I _am _from this world, but I guess I’m a special case and the curse doesn’t apply to me. Who would have guessed?” Lilith added with a weak laugh. “I know you just got overwhelmed with all this new information a few days ago with the whole Anankos thing, so I’m sorry to drop all of this on you now, but it is related. You may want to sit for this.” 

Still incredibly confused, Kamui sat in the spot on the bench that Selena had been sitting and looked up at the three people around her. “Please, tell me what you’re all talking about. I’ve barely been told anything and already my head has begun to hurt…”

“How do I start this…?” Odin asked himself, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, I guess I’ll put it simply. Selena, Laslow and I come from another world. Specifically, a country called Ylisse. We…we went through a lot there, but that’s not important.”

“Ylisse?” Kamui repeated in a whisper. “Ylisse…that kingdom is a myth. You’re saying that you all come from a world from fairy tales told to children?” 

“I presume you know the legend, right? The Fell Dragon, Shepherds, Exalt Chrom, his daughter Lucina, and her friends from the future? The three of us  _ are _ those friends. Well, among them. There are more, but—”

“Lilith, is he telling the truth?” Kamui asked her close friend. The dragon nodded in affirmation, making the girl blink several times to keep herself sane. She had been that epic numerous times by Camilla in the past and here she was being told that three of her friends had come straight out of a story book. “Oh. Okay. I see. Well, continue. I’m sure it can’t get any stranger than that.” 

“How do you think we felt finding out that we were myths in this world? So, while the three of us were out together one day, Anankos suddenly appeared to us and asked for our help in defeating the Silent Dragon. More specifically, he asked us to seek out his grandchildren and assist them in defeating that dragon.” 

“ _ He _ appeared to you,” Kamui repeated once more, resting her head in her hands. A younger version of herself would have slapped him right then and there for pulling her leg. Now, she simply massaged her temple in an attempt to maintain her sanity. “Then you must know what happened to him. Shigure said he disappeared.” 

Suddenly, a pained expression appeared on Lilith’s face and she slowly raised her hand. Her eyes were aimed at her feet and her free hand was tightly clutching the hem of her apron. “I can explain that one. I suppose I would be the best to do so…” 

* * *

Sunset in Valla was peculiar. 

Due to the varying elevations of the floating islands, some areas were still receiving plenty of sunlight while others were cast completely in darkness. On one particular island that was far larger than the others, the sun sat exactly on the horizon and gave off a warm orange light. On this island stood four individuals, three facing one as the tallest tapped his foot on the earth. 

The three in line were Odin, Selena, and Laslow, though they all appeared to be several years younger. Before them was a tall, pale man in a plain beige hooded robe. His ears were long and pointed, but did not point up like either of the twins’. Instead, they drooped down at an angle. His eyes were a crimson red and his long, blue hair cascaded like a waterfall over his shoulders. 

“Well,” he began. His voice was baritone and smooth, befitting of a man of his origin. “Here we are. Valla—my home. I know the terrain must not be what you’re used to, but this isn’t exactly an ordinary land.” 

With a discomforted expression, Laslow took a moment to look around and take in his surroundings. “It’s…empty. I know you told us that most of your people were killed, but is there truly no one left?” 

The blue haired man shook his head. “I’m afraid not. No one of Vallite origin remains here. This was once a prosperous kingdom…but the Silent Dragon has turned it to nothing but a wasteland. Severa, you said before that the world in which you come from was also under the rule of a tyrannical dragon. It seems we share similar backgrounds.” 

“Except you  _ are  _ that dragon. Or at least, a part of him,” Selena—apparently known as Severa—responded. “Though…I guess you are fighting against him. Just like our Robin, right, Inigo? Owain?” 

Owain nodded with a pleased smile. “That’s right. In fact, you remind me of him quite a great deal, Anankos! Tell me, is this daughter of yours perhaps a meek archer with a violent split personality? Does she have an airheaded little sister?” 

Anankos chuckled and shook his head. “I’m afraid not. My Mikoto has no temper and is my only child.” 

“Tell me, how exactly did you manage to contact us if you’re from another world entirely?” Inigo asked with a curious gaze. “You called us great warriors when we met, so how did you know?” 

“It took a great deal of my power, but I managed to envision a world in which a group of warriors slew a malevolent dragon and transport myself there. Once I arrived, you three answered the call I put out.” 

Nodding in understanding, Owain adjusted his collar and pursed his lips. “I see. A trio of comrades answering the call from an all-powerful dragon and being transported to another world in order to…wait, why are we here? All you said was that you needed our help.” 

“Ah, yes. As a forewarning, I’ll tell you that the task at hand will not be an easy one nor will it be one that can be completed in little time. Are you prepared to potentially spend years in a world unfamiliar to any of you? Severa, I understand that you have a significant other back home. Are you sure about this?” 

Crossing her arms, Severa bit her lip and looked to the ground. “Noire will be fine without me for a while,” she said quickly. “We’re supposed to be heroes, and this is the kind of stuff heroes do. Don’t worry about me.” 

“That’s good, then.” Anankos smoothed back his hair and sighed, shaking his head pitifully. “As for your task at hand…I need you to locate my grandchildren and make sure that they fulfill their destinies. They’re twins—a boy and a girl—in a country called Hoshido. Their names are—”

“Ah! There you are!” 

Whipping their heads around, the three friends were greeted by none other than Lilith. She did not quite look like her regular self, however. She donned ebony black armor made of silver and her long hair was let down, flowing all the way down to her waist. Her golden eyes gave off a much more fierce aura than they did in the present and she seemed to have come bearing a killing intent. 

Anankos stepped forward in front of his warriors, ready to defend them. “I do not know you. State your name and what business you have here at once.” 

Lilith smirked and began to approach the four of them confidently, her nails extending into sharp claws. “Lilith, daughter of the  _ true _ Anankos. Your life ends here, imposter, as do the lives of your little friends here.” 

Anankos expression morphed into one of disgust as his mouth hung open in horror. “You’re telling me my dragon half self-sired a child!? Why?” 

“To deal with the likes of you, of course. I’m surprised you didn’t know about little ol’ me. It seems your power of foresight isn’t starting to wane, is it? Your grandchildren, for instance. They’ve been in Nohr for years now. It’s not like me telling you that matters in the slightest, though. You’re finished.” 

Extending her arm, a dark fog began emanating from around it and coalesced in her hand. In a split second, what appeared to be black lightning shot out of her hand and pierced Anankos’ body. He attempted to block the attack with his arms, but the attack seemed to linger inside of his body for a while, paralyzing him and causing him to cry out in pain before collapsing. 

In one fluid motion, Owain charged forward, unsheathed his sword, and slashed at his adversary. Lilith blocked the attack by quickly holding up her armored arm, then grabbed Owain by the collar and tossed him aside. Managing to twist in the air, the swordsman slid on his feet once he landed and immediately engaged once again. It was three swords versus one enemy, and Lilith held her own exceptionally well. She ducked and weaved to avoid the slashes delivered by Severa and Inigo, then grabbing Owain’s blade as he charged at her and pulling him forward to slam him face first into the ground. Retracting her claws, she made a fist and delivered a single solid punch to Inigo’s jaw. With the strength of a dragon on her side, it was more than enough to send him crumbling to the dirt. Finally, she stopped an oncoming attack from Severa by reaching out and grabbing at the air. Without laying a single finger on her, Lilith had manifested that same dark aura from before and gotten it wrapped around the girl’s neck. With a confident smirk, she raised her arm as well as Severa in the arm before slamming her down and knocking the wind out of her. 

“Is  _ this  _ supposed to be your defense against my father? Pathetic,” Lilith taunted as she began to manifest energy in her palm once again. “See how fruitless your efforts are.” 

Still on the ground, Anankos forced himself to sit up and reach out towards Lilith. “ _ NO! _ ” As he shouted, the attacker was suddenly sent flying back with incredible force. He was still too weak to stand, but he grit his teeth and focused his concentration on those whom he had called to assist him. On the ground below them, a large golden circle appeared and completely encompassed them. “When you get to Nohr, conceal your identities! She knows who you are, so the Silent Dragon does as well! He will stop at nothing to find and kill you! Now, go!” 

Clutching at his bloodied forehead, Owain got on his knees and reached out towards Anankos. “Wait! What about y—” 

“GO!” 

Anankos closed his fist and the friends were engulfed in a flash of golden light. When the light faded, they were nowhere to be found. Anankos collapsed back down on his back from exhaustion and began to breathe heavily and erratically. He had used up all of his remaining energy and was evidently on his last legs. With impeccable timing, Lilith had recovered and had begun to walk towards him. 

“All you’ve done is prolong their deaths, fool. I’ll be sure to make them suffer even more when I catch them.” Lilith stood above Anankos and stared into his eyes as she extended her claws, her expression hardened and unchanging. 

Anankos stared back and could not help but smile. “I have another daughter, huh? In all my years of living, I never would have guessed that I’d have two children. And yet, here we are.” 

Lilith sneered. “Your sentimentalities mean nothing. Do you truly want the final words out of your mouth to be so completely and utterly worthless?” 

Not allowing Lilith’s words to get to him, Anankos continued to speak. “My other half…he doesn’t treat you well, does he? Doesn’t treat you like a father should. I know him…I’m sorry.” 

Lilith took in a sharp breath and drew her hand back, the expression on her face wavering. What was he doing? She was moments away from ending his centuries long life and here he was feeling sorry for her. He was right, of course, but she told herself that she would not be swayed by his words.

“You think that’s enough to get me to spare you? D-despicable.” She forced a smile and extended her arm once more. “Before you die, my father wants me to tell you something. He  _ will not  _ be defeated. All of your efforts will be for nothing. The second I’m done with you, I’m going after those three you just sent off, and then I’m dealing with your grandchildren. There will be no victory for you.” 

Anankos’ smile did not fade. Instead, he simply closed his eyes gently and allowed his head to rest upon the dirt ground. “You can try, but I have faith. My heroes…they will not fail. And my grandchildren will rise up to the task and take down my other half. You won’t stop them, Lilith. No one will.” 

With her face growing red, Lilith decided that she had had quite enough of this man’s words. The energy in her palm suddenly elongated into a long javelin—sharp on both ends—and she raised it high into the air while letting out a cry. Finally, she brought the weapon down and pierced right through the old man’s chest. He jerked for just a moment and grit his teeth in pain before his breathing slowed and his ever present smile returned to his face. 

“You don’t…have to follow him,” he said in a weak breath as the spear dissipated into nothingness. “Lilith. You can…be your own…” 

The sound of Anankos’ breathing faded, and all was silent save for the gentle blow of the wind. 

Lilith released a long exhale and shook her head in disappointment. She had done just as the Silent Dragon had commanded, and yet she felt no sense of fulfillment. In the end, what did she achieve? Appeasing the will of a being that bore no love nor care for her? She would receive no gratitude or praise when she returned to the Silent Dragon’s den; her only reward would be the pleasure of seeing him satisfied. Though…why did she wish to see him happy in the first place? What reason did she have to do so? Was she in his debt simply for her creation? 

Groaning, Lilith held her pounding head in her hands and tightly squeezed her eyes shut. “Go…” she moaned to herself, dragging her feet to the edge of the island. “Kill them. Kill them all. Just…do what you’re told, Lilith.” 

A minute later, she peered over the edge of the island and saw nothing but endless clouds. With her emotions running high, the dragon tightly clenched her fists before throwing herself over the edge and into the sky below. 

* * *

Now, Lilith had tears in her eyes as she told her tale. “These two were sent farther in the future while I remained in the present. Anankos must have done it purposefully so that they could avoid me—at least for longer than they would have if we remained in the same time. When I saw you and Corrin playing by the stables, you looked so happy and innocent that I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you. I was in my dragon form for discretion’s sake, and you know what happened from there. After you and Corrin nursed me back to health, there was no way I could ever kill you. So, then and there, I decided to instead serve you, and that was that.” 

Kamui had not interrupted the story since Lilith started talking. She had been listening intently with her face in her hands and her gaze trained on Lilith’s eyes. 

“So…that’s what happened to him. You killed him…” With a remorseful sigh, she turned around to face Odin and Selena. “And you two. What about you?” 

“Our story is pretty boring,” Selena warned. “The three of us got here about eight years ago. When we arrived, each of us had a weird looking crystal in our pockets. We assume that that’s how we’ll get home, but…we don’t want to test it. We had no idea where to start, so we decided to make a name for ourselves as mercenaries back in Helheim. Odin here picked up magic for whatever reason and eventually we became your brothers’ and sister’s retainers. We didn’t learn about the whole story with Queen Mikoto and her kids until a while into being retainers, but we figured that must be who  _ he _ was talking about. Obviously we were pretty shocked to see Lilith living with you like everything was normal when we first saw her here, but we worked things out just fine. Everything was going pretty okay until Hoshido kidnapped you two…” 

Kamui’s eyes thinned. “You’ve been in a completely different world for  _ eight years _ ? What about all of your people back home? Your friends and family?” 

Odin looked as if he were in pain. The man slowly reached up to remove the sleeve covering part of his right hand, then reached out to Kamui. On the back of his hand was a peculiar mark a few shades darker than his skin that could be best described as a stylized depiction of a raindrop within a chalice. 

“This is…my brand,” Odin began, speaking softly. “I’m of royal blood, you see. In my family, everyone bears this brand somewhere on their body. My cousin has hers in her eye, my uncle on his forearm, but…my mother’s never surfaced. At least, not before we left.” Tears began to well in his eyes, something Kamui had never seen before. She did not take Odin as the crying type. “Naga, I don’t even know if it ever came to her. I might have missed it. What kind of son would I be if I wasn’t there to witness something like that, huh?” 

“Odin…” 

At this point, his tears were flowing down his face like a steady river as he placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “Think about how everyone must feel! Brady, Noire, Nah, all of them! We’ve been gone for so long with no explanation! And look, we’ve just made our own lives here like it was nothing! Laslow even married a girl from here, damn it! What is he going to do when we go back, huh? Just take her away from everything she has here? Will he even want to return?” 

“Owain.” Selena spoke firmly and with confidence, gently placing her hands on her husband’s and removing them from her shoulder. “Everything is fine. Tell me, why did you become a swordsman in the first place back home?” 

Odin blinked, confused. “Wh-what?” 

“I know you’ve talked about it a million times, but just humor me.” 

“My…my father. He was the best swordsman around when we were kids and I wanted to be just like him.” 

Selena smiled. “Exactly. Think about your dad here. He would be  _ so _ proud of you, you know that? All of our parents would. Sure, Henry’s a weirdo, but I’m sure he’d be excited to have a granddaughter in Soleil. Then there’s my dad, who would probably just want to see what types of sweets this world has, but still. Look, I know we were planning on waiting for the war to blow over, but we can finish this even faster now that everyone knows the truth. Once we’re done here, we can head right back home and see all of our friends again. Wouldn’t you like that?” 

Wiping his tears away with his sleeves, Odin took a deep breath and slowly a smile crept up his face. “Yeah. Yeah, I would.” He turned around to Kamui and Lilith and cleared his throat, then awkwardly smoothing out his garbs. “I’m sorry that you had to see that. It was really out of character for me, huh?” 

Kamui waved the apology off and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I am sure it must be difficult being away from the people you love for…for that long.” She pursed her lips together and shook her head before smiling at Lilith. “Lilith, know that I appreciate everything you’ve ever done for me more than you could ever know. Do not be so hard on yourself for your actions in the past. People grow and people change, and there is no shame in admitting to the wrong you’ve committed years ago. My opinion of you hasn’t changed in the slightest. I still love you.” 

Blinking her tears away, Lilith lunged forward and pulled Kamui into a hug, pressing her face into her chest. “Thank you so much. Gods, watching you grow for the past two decades has been the best thing I could have ever asked for. You’re amazing, Kamui.” 

The princess laughed and rubbed her friend’s back with adoration. “You flatter me, really. Now…that was quite a lot to take in. We can discuss this further later if you’d like, however, I do believe we should be getting to the carriages promptly, yes?” 

Now with his signature smile returned, Odin raised his hand to the sky. “Yes, I concur! Let us make our way to our method of transport and move ever closer towards the thrill of battle!” 

Selena couldn’t help but giggling and covered her mouth with her hand. “Gods, Odin. You’re giving me whiplash here.” 

* * *

_ One.  _

A mage who had summoned the spirit of a tiger to fight alongside him. Kamui quickly dispatched the ethereal creation by transforming her left arm into a giant toothy maw and bringing the powerful jaws down on the creation as it lunged at her. Its misty form dissipated into the air and the warrior turned her attention to its creator. Before he could conjure up another spirit, she engulfed her fist in flames and punched forward, expelling warm air from her lungs and sending a fireball crashing into the mage’s body. His robes immediately caught fire and he was left flailing around as his skin began to boil and burn, sentencing him to an inevitable end. 

_ Two.  _

A spear master who had gotten overzealous. The moment she turned around, Kamui was faced with the sharp end of a naginata. She leaned to the side to avoid her head being impaled and reflexively grabbed the pole of the weapon, then pulling it as well as its wielder forward. She wrapped her free hand around the spearwoman’s neck and covered it in hard black scales, which gave her sharp claws on each of her digits. The look on the woman’s face as she gazed at the princess was one of sheer terror and she let out several whimpers of fear before Kamui closed her eyes and tightened her grip. She winced as she heard the bones crunch—that was always the worst part. Returning her hand to normal and flashing the blood off as the fresh corpse crumbled to the floor, Kamui continued moving forward. 

_ Three. _

She had to wonder why her enemies always seemed to think it a good idea to come at her alone. She was the great Princess Commander Kamui of Nohr, renowned for her prowess on the battlefield. A middle-aged man with a fury in his eyes and a sword in his hand charged right at her, only to be pierced through the heart by a bolt of lightning originating from Kamui’s index and middle fingers. Maintaining the momentum from his sprint, the man skid across the dirt before coming to a halt, smoke rising from his twitching body. 

Over the years, Kamui had come to learn that she much preferred magic to swordplay. It was far less personal and made killing all the more easier. This was the primary reason why she had focused on honing her magical capabilities over the years. Through rigorous study and constant practice, she was now near the same level of skill as Odin and had committed almost every tome in Leo’s collection to memory, no longer needing them to perform her magic. Luckily, magic felt natural to the princess and she was more than confident in her abilities. 

Kamui was not quite sure how she did not see her next assailant. The terrain she was in did not have much cover aside from the occasional large boulder. The ground with entirely dirt and lacked only foliage, so there was no way to hide among tall grass or among trees. The archer that locked onto her seemed to blend into the scenery, becoming invisible simply by standing still. If it were not for Kamui’s keen hearing, she would have had her shoulder skewered by an arrow, but she was able to twist her body and avoid it just in the nick of time. She whipped her head around to face her attacker, who lowered her bow with a disappointed expression.

It was a woman who appeared to be around Kamui’s age with long, blue hair and matching eyes, her bangs pinned back by a hair pin. She looked rather bored standing on the battlefield, but frowned upon missing her shot. With a heavy sigh, she reached into her quiver with no sense of urgency whatsoever and docked another arrow. Not wanting to give her another opportunity to attack, Kamui set her hand ablaze and sent a fireball accelerating towards her. To her surprise, the archer sidestepped the attack with ease and exceptional reaction time. Faster than Kamui could even process, the girl drew her bowstring back and fired another arrow. The arrow just barely missed her thigh, instead bouncing off of her armor. 

Kamui figured that she had to close the distance between them and kicked off of the dirt and into a sprint. She encased her fingers in icy claws and raised her hand to slash at the archer, only for the woman to block the attack with her bow. That was when the princess noticed that the bow’s limb was more or less a pair of blades, made of a flexible yet sharp metal. As such, it could double as a melee weapon. Taking advantage of the fact that the Hoshidan was not wearing any heavy armor, Kamui focused all of her strength into her left fist and delivered a swift punch to her belly. The punch sent her stumbling quite a ways back and made blood spill from her mouth and onto the dirt. With a pained look, the girl clenched her stomach and stared at Kamui. Immediately, her eyes widened with shock and the color drained from her face.

“I didn’t realize it was you…I’m not supposed to attack you, so—”

Kamui was not one to allow her opponent time to speak, and as such, she extended her fingers and sent each of the sharp shards of ice flying towards her opponent. Once again displaying impeccable reaction time, she held her arm in front of her body and allowed the shards to shatter against her armguard. As Kamui dashed forward to close the distance once more, the Hoshidan archer used the blade of her bow to fend her off. Even with her stomach in intense pain, she still managed to parry all of Kamui’s strikes, eventually even pushing her away with a powerful slash to the midsection. In one swift motion, she readied her weapon and sent an arrow flying straight through Kamui’s hand. 

The princess grit her teeth and gave a quiet grunt of pain. Several inches of the arrow had gone through and her crimson blood dripped from the metal tip. It was not often that anyone managed to break through Kamui’s defenses and it was even more rare for her to bleed. Baring her fangs at the girl who had begun to back away, Kamui started to focus her concentration on channeling her next spell and blue electricity began to crackle throughout her uninjured arm. With wide eyes, the archer realized exactly what she was doing and knew that this was not something she could block. As such, she quickly turned around and began to sprint away. Kamui, however, knew the range of her attack was not something that could be avoided. Now with a large ball of blue lightning charged in her palm, she reached out towards the woman and muttered a single incantation. 

“ _ Thoron. _ ” 

Kamui’s short white hair was blown back by the sheer force of the attack being released from her body. A massive beam of blue and white lightning shot through the air and went right through the fleeing girl, causing her to let out one last cry of immense pain before tumbling to the ground. The attack thinned and dissipated once it made contact, fading into nothingness. From the smoke rising from the archer’s singed garbs, Kamui could tell that she was gone. 

After making sure that the remaining soldiers around her were occupied by her own forces, she turned her attention to the arrow currently lodged in her hand. She sighed—the last time she had been struck by an arrow, Corrin was by her side. Dismissing the thought, she tightly gripped the arrow and quickly pulled it from her hand in one tug. It hurt like hell, but Kamui had learned to suppress her pain on the battlefield a while ago. Still, she made a mental note to find Jakob, Elise, or Forrest soon. As she prepared to move on, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud and horrified shout coming from the direction she was facing. 

Kneeling on the dirt and holding the woman Kamui had just dispatched in his arms was a tall tan man with wild brown hair, his mouth agape with sorrow. Despite the distance between them, Kamui’s draconic vision allowed her to just barely make out the star-shaped pupils of his eyes, which were currently filling with tears. Even though they were enemies, Kamui could not help but feel compassion for the man who had clearly just lost someone he was close to. She did not feel too bad, though. That is, until the man looked at her. Even though they were a ways away from one another, Kamui could feel the mix of despair and sheer  _ hatred  _ in his eyes. She tensed her muscles in anticipation for an attack, but instead, the man simply rose to his feet with the woman’s limp body in his arms and fled. She felt a small sense of pride—clearly he did not want to meet the same fate his companion just had. 

“Hey!” 

Kamui jumped, startled by whoever had just patted her on the back. After whipping her head around and preparing to attack, she let her guard down upon seeing the long mane of blue and pink hair that belonged to Soleil. The short girl looked up at her with her signature bright smile. 

“Come on, cutie! What’re you standing around for? We’ve mostly won, but there are still a few stragglers here and there that we’ve got to take care of before we can go home. Let’s go!” she called before jogging off back into the battle. Kamui had to wonder just how that girl managed to smile through all the bloodshed. She figured that it was a trait inherited from her mother, since Laslow was definitely never one to exhibit any sort of joy on the battlefield. His face was always hardened and solemn, the occasional look of pain flashing on it whenever he cut down an enemy. She respected that about him. 

Despite her willingness to do so in order to win her battles, she took no pleasure or sense of victory in killing. To Kamui, it was simply something that she was both expected and obligated to do. Not for the glory of Nohr—she could not care less about that—but in support of her family and those who she now called friends. If she wished to win the war, killing was unavoidable. She was still occasionally haunted at night by the fact that each Hoshidan she killed likely had a home, family, and friends that they had all been planning to return to when this was all over, only to be cut down by the hands of a princess who bore no ill will towards them. The fact of the matter was that they were in her way, and as such, they had to be put down. As Kamui began walking in pursuit of Soleil, she wondered just what kind of life the man who had fled from her lived. 

* * *

Corrin was not a man who often lost his composure. 

According to his darling wife, his ability to remain calm and level headed in times of distress was one of his greatest attributes. It allowed him to assess a situation from a logical standpoint and go about handling it in an effective way. For instance, Kara had once gone missing when she was a small child and was playing near the edge of the forest by her house in the deeprealm in which her and Kotomi resided. Kagero and Kotomi had broken into panic while Corrin kept his cool and decided to investigate the forest outskirts. There, he came upon reptilian footprints and managed to track them to a clearing where he found his daughter rampaging in her dragon form, having completely decimated several large trees. With his gentle hands and reassuring words, he was able to coax her back to normal and begin teaching her about controlling that side of her physiology. That was the first time she had ever transformed, something Kagero had been dreading since her birth. Luckily, Corrin was able to keep the situation under control. 

Despite his ability to maintain a clear head, the prince was still susceptible to being overcome with emotion. First, it was fear. When he received a summons to make his way to a small village near the border, he did not know what to expect. Ryoma had told him that the summons came from Azama himself, who had recently joined a small band of soldiers along with Setsuna in order to offend against attacks from Nohr. This was only a few days prior, so the timing of the summons worried Corrin deeply. 

Next, it was dread. Dread upon entering the small village hospital, dread upon seeing the expression on his old friend’s face, and dread upon witnessing the tears of his comrades flowing down their faces. Azama’s eyes were usually so squinted from his smile that they appeared closed, but now anyone could see clear as day the sorrow in them contrasted with his pupils. This was odd; sadness was not an emotion that the man was known to be capable of. 

Finally, it was despair. He felt Kagero tightly squeezing his hand as she bit her lip, the couple slowly making their way towards the bed that everyone was crowded around. Corrin scanned the crowd to assure himself that everyone was accounted for. He saw Ryoma’s long brown hair in a ponytail, the black eyepatch over Oboro’s eye, the bright red hair of his beloved older sister, everything. Kaden’s golden hair, Orochi’s silk shawl, Takumi’s hair ribbon, Sakura’s kimono, Saizo’s bladed armguards, Kaze’s headband, and Azura’s pendant…the one other person who did not have a reason to be absent was nowhere to be seen. 

“Corrin, I…” Oboro began as the young prince and his wife approached. She opted not to say anything further, instead closing her visible eye and hanging her head low while Takumi pulled her close. Kara and Kotomi had been told to wait outside, for Corrin did not know what awaited him in a place as macabre as a hospital. 

His friends stepped aside and made room for Corrin to get close to the bed. In dispersing, they unobscured the very thing they had been blocking and immediately Kagero drew in a sharp gasp, completely shocked by what she saw. Corrin’s lip began to tremble and hot tears filled his eyes as his knees started to waver. He tried to form words, but his own mind was failing him.

There, lying absolutely still, lifeless on the bed with her arms crossed over her chest, was the woman who was Corrin’s first love. The woman whom he had shared so many fond memories with. The woman who he was longing to talk to once again after not having seen each other for so long. There she was, as beautiful as the day Corrin first laid eyes on her. 

Setsuna. 

Red and black burns were permanently marked on her body, climbing from her ribs up to her face. They were almost pretty—resembling the same floral patterns Corrin had seen so many times on the kimonos she would wear whenever she came to visit. Yet, he could see that her skin was charred from her collarbone below. Black. She always hated the color black. She said that it was far too gloomy for her tastes. She preferred pure and soft white—a color befitting of her whimsical personality. 

“I…I didn’t see what happened,” Azama began in a whisper, tears staining his face. He shook his head and held it in his hands as he fell to his knees and began to breathe shakily. Immediately, Orochi stooped to his level and wrapped her arm around his body to console him. “I wasn’t there. If I had just been there, I could have…I could have…!” 

Azama’s words did not reach Corrin’s ears, for all he could hear was the slow beating of his own heart. He gently placed his hand on Setsuna’s face and carressed it. She was soft. She was cold. He moved her hair out of her face and stared at her closed eyes, his own eyes darkening with every passing moment. His head throbbed in pain from the situation alone, for he was finding it difficult to process the situation. How? How could his close friend be gone? He could still recall her smiles, her laughter, her humming—so how? 

Corrin’s hand slipped from Kagero’s as he involuntarily began to walk away from the bed towards the back exit without a word. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, but not a single one of them made an attempt to stop him. He pushed through the back doors of the hospital and walked through the dry, tall grass. He made his way over to a large tree, where he found his legs giving up on him. Leaning on the tree for support, Corrin found himself gritting his teeth as his vision was obscured by his own tears. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. Setsuna was a joy to everyone whose path she crossed and had never hurt a soul, so why,  _ why  _ was she gone? Why was she taken from everyone before her time? Corrin slammed his fist into the thick trunk, but it did nothing to ease his pain.

_ One. _

His hands. Corrin took a step back and dizzily stood there for a moment before drawing in a sharp and shallow breath, bringing his fist back before angrily slamming it into the rough bark. The fabric of his fingerless gloves tore immediately and his skin broke, but he didn’t care. He brought the other fist back and punched the tree again, this time letting out a grunt of effort and gritting his teeth. Over and over again his fists pummelled the hard, thick tree that towered over him, but even after all of that, all he was left with was blood dripping down his fingers and stripped bark.

_ Two.  _

His blades. The young man quickly drew his fingers over his bracers to call forth the sharp metal and without missing a beat began to slash at the tree before him. Several long, deep cuts were made, but it was not enough. Throwing away everything he had been taught about using the weapons, Corrin recklessly slammed them into his target in an attempt to do as much damage as possible, each attack chipping the metal off bit by bit. Eventually, they had been reduced to nothing but stubs. 

_ Three. _

Corrin was not satisfied. He could not  _ ever  _ be satisfied. How could anyone possibly feel content after such a devastating loss? He tightly ground his teeth and pulled at his hair, hunching over and stumbling about in emotional agony. His heart pounded in his chest and blood rushed to his head before he finally reached a crescendo, letting out an incredibly loud, guttural, genuine cry, before just like his sister, he was engulfed in a scarlet aura and transformed into his dragon form against his own will. He wasted no time in completely laying waste to the tree, attacking it with his horns, claws, and tail. He continuously roared the entire time as the target splintered, split, and cracked. Charging into it with his entire form one last time, the tree was severed at its base and came crashing down, leaving dozens of multicolored leaves falling all around him. He had destroyed it, yet his heart still ached. 

His roars of pain did not cease. He continued to slam his tail and legs into the ground in frustration until he felt a hand on his side. Furious, he quickly whipped his head around and cried out even louder, only stopping himself when he came face to face with Kagero. Her eyes were wet with tears and her cheeks were red from crying, but still she stood at his side. He did not even notice Azura standing behind her. Wordlessly, she stepped closer and did her best to wrap her arms around Corrin’s neck, pulling him into a tender embrace as she continued to sob. Now with his wife at his side, Corrin’s fury began to quell and he shifted back into his human shape, tightly hugging Kagero when he was fully transformed. 

“Please…” Kagero began, resting her head on Corrin’s shoulder. “Don’t scare me like that again.” 

“I won’t,” Corrin promised as he hugged her even tighter. Finally, the flow of his tears ceased now that he was safe within the arms of his wife, and yet his heart still ached. “It’s not fair. It’s…it’s not fair.” 

Azura finally broke her stillness and approached the pair, standing at their side before clearing her throat. “I’m sorry for your loss. Both of you. I know that you were close with her, and…well, you’re right. It  _ isn’t  _ fair. War never is. Setsuna was a good person whose life was cut far too short. Mourning is inevitable, however, we have to decide on a course of action. We—”

“Azura,” Corrin let out, raising his head to look her in the eyes. He seemed…tired. Drained, even. All signs of hope had left his voice. “Please. Give me time. She…she  _ just _ died.” 

Biting her tongue, Azura put her fist to her mouth and nodded with her brow furrowed. The thought that perhaps she was being a little too hasty crossed her mind. With a guilty expression, the songstress began walking backwards before stepping back into the hospital, leaving the married pair alone. 

The two remained in each other’s embrace before Corrin let out a heavy sigh and released Kagero. His headache had now subsided, though he could still feel a pit in his stomach. He almost began to sob once more at the thought that he would never be able to see Setsuna’s smile again, or hear her laugh, or feel her hug him ever again. She was gone—erased from this world—and he was not even given a chance to say goodbye. 

“Corrin?” Kagero began as she wiped away the last of her tears with the back of her hand. “I…Azura might have spoken too soon, but she had a point. What are we going to do?” 

Kagero was right; it was a good question. Corrin felt a little bad about giving his close friend special treatment since plenty of Hoshidans had undoubtedly lost their lives at the hands of Nohr, but the prince could not help it. This war was already a personal matter for him and Setsuna’s death had only amplified his feelings towards it all. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and simply listened to the tranquil chirping of the birds that had begun to return after his rampage, perched on tree branches as well as flying through the air just as he did. Finally, he looked his wife directly in the eyes and spoke with a hint of anger in his tone, his expression hardened and full of what could only be described as hate. 

“I think it’s about time I talk to my old siblings face to face.” 

* * *

Sometimes Kamui wondered just how it came to be that she and each of her siblings were so…different. 

When they were delivered an envelope sealed with the official emblem of Hoshido, they were all at least curious. The letter within was dated four days prior to the day they received it, so it was safe to assume one or more couriers had to travel a long way in order to ensure the letter made it to its destination. Just as Kamui suspected, it was from Corrin, though that was not what concerned her. No, it was the contents of the letter itself. 

A request for a peaceful diplomatic dinner in Izumo. The only people in attendance were to be the royal children of Nohr, the royal children of Hoshido including its king, the Archduke of Izumo, and Lilith. Neither spouses nor children were permitted to accompany them, something which upset Camilla most of all. Elise was excited that she would finally be able to see her older brother again while Leo was worrying over keeping this a secret from King Iago. If he were to find out, he would surely attempt to turn it into something he could take advantage of. Xander was almost certain that it was a trap and Camilla seemed to be upset at the thought of Corrin’s Hoshidan family being closer to him than she once was. Lastly, there was Kamui, who had her head in her hands as she leaned on her desk. She was the only one who had spoken to Corrin in the last five years and she felt that she had a decent idea of what it was he wanted to discuss. 

“Why are you being so negative, Leo?!” Elise asked, stomping her foot. “Don’t you want to see Corrin again? It’s been so long!” 

The young prince scoffed and crossed his arms with a roll of his eyes. “Of course I do— what kind of question is that? I’m only saying that you have to be logical about this. What, will we just tell Iago that we’re all going on vacation for a few days? Izumo isn’t exactly a day trip, you know. We have to make up a believable lie if we don’t want him catching on.” 

Xander shook his head. “Assuming we’ll even be needing to do that in the first place. Who’s to say that this isn’t some ploy to get all five of us in one place so that they can take us out in one fell swoop? To go to Izumo defenseless would be suicide.” 

“Think about why he chose Izumo in the first place, Xander. It’s neutral territory—neither of us can legally touch the other. Please, quell your fears. I’m sure that Corrin would never do something that heinous, especially not to the people that love him.” 

“You should not be so trusting of the enemy, Camilla. Who’s to say that Hoshido hasn’t coerced Izumo over to their side?” Leo added with a shake of his head. “Naivety is something detrimental in war. If we are to come out on top, then we must—”

“I spoke to Corrin recently,” Kamui blurted out with her eyes squeezed shut. Her siblings all turned to face her, shocked expressions on their faces, but she continued speaking before any of them could comment. “It was while Lilith and I were together in the Astral Plane about a month ago when Shigure arrived; he appeared at the tree house. We didn’t speak for long…it was in large part just catching up. I made him leave, but before he did, he said that he wanted the next time we met to be under better circumstances. I suppose this is it.” 

“When Shigure first showed up? And just when the hell were you planning on telling us this?!” Leo demanded, stepping rather angrily towards Kamui. Elise grabbed his hand to stop him and pulled him back slightly, preventing him from getting too close. 

Kamui winced; a part of her knew that he would react like that. “I…truthfully, I didn’t think that it was important. I know that that was the first time any of us had seen him in five years, but keep in mind that Lilith could have always just arranged a meeting if you truly wished to see him that badly. He hasn’t made any attempts to do so, so I thought it evident that he had no interest in meeting any of us.” 

Leo scoffed and crossed his arms as Elise released his hand, lowering his head so that his hair covered his eyes. “And yet the first and only person he approaches is you. Figures.” 

“Leo,” Xander began with a rather disappointed look on his face. “Surely you expected that. With all they’ve been through together, it’s only natural that Kamui be the first one he wants to see. They’re twins, after all.” 

“So what?!” Leo spat. “The rest of us are still his siblings, even if it isn’t by blood! You girls may have encountered him on the battlefield, but Xander and I haven’t seen him since the day he chose those Hoshidans over us. So, yes, I’m going to be a little upset over finding out that Kamui here just flat out sat down and had a conversation with him barely last month!” 

Camilla attempted to calm her little brother by gently placing her hand on his shoulder, but he roughly jerked away and glared at her, prompting a hurt frown. “Leo…I understand that you must miss him—we all do—but think about how Kamui must feel. She spent every day of her life with him up until he left us and the both of them are leading armies on opposing sides of a war. Surely you must understand the connection they have is different than the ones they share with the four of us. Corrin and Kamui—”

In an uncharacteristic act, Leo interrupted his sister with a loud groan and stomped his foot. “Corrin and Kamui, Corrin and Kamui, Corrin and Kamui! Gods, It’s all you and Xander ever talk about! Isn’t there ever anything else on your mind?” 

Kamui bit down on her tongue hard and clawed at her thighs, squeezing her eyes shut. Taking notice of this, Elise spoke up in an attempt to get Leo to stop. 

“Hey! Why are you getting so worked up over this? This isn’t like you, Leo.” 

“Why am I getting so worked up? Because, Elise, I’ve had to listen to these two go on and on about the twins for the past twenty-three years of my life. Anytime we’d visit them as children, they’d get all the attention. Hell, I picked up magic because Xander was too busy training them to give me the time of day! Even when we were all teenagers, Camilla  _ still  _ doted on them like they were children. Now, when we’re adults with our own damn children, the twins are still all that ever matter. Not you, not me.” With his teeth grit and his face a bright red, he turned his eyes back to the person and question and spoke at her. “What, don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” 

Instead of giving a response, Kamui roughly rose from her chair and immediately bolted through the door and out of the room disappearing around the corner of the hallway. Leo huffed in dissatisfaction. 

“Of course she runs away. She—”

With an enraged look on her face, Camilla drew her hand back high in the air before bringing it down hard on Leo’s face. He was left wide eyed and shocked, the red handprint on his cheek stinging. He was not even given a chance to respond before Xander, Camilla, as well as Elise all ran out of the room in pursuit of their distraught sister, leaving their dumbfounded brother all by himself. 


	19. The Path is Yours

“Mom?” 

One of Kamui’s eyes slowly opened while the other remained shut. As the sun set on the Astral Plane and cast the area into shadow, she lay gently swaying on a hammock between two small trees that stood about two minutes’ walk from the mess hall. Her head rested in her hands and her legs were crossed, her long ears drooping from exhaustion. She smiled and sat up a little upon laying eyes on her daughter.

“Oh, hello, Sophie. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be training with your brother?” 

The young cavalier scoffed and rolled her eyes while crossing her arms. She appeared to be rather annoyed by the very question. “I _ was _, but he got upset that he couldn’t get this one take down on me and started whining. I just handed him off to Forrest and Siegbert so I didn’t have to deal with him.” 

“Take down? Why is he trying a take down? He should know that he’s much too small for something like that.”

“That’s what I tried to tell him!” Sophie exclaimed, groaning before pulling at her hair. “He’s so stubborn! Instead of using his size to his advantage like Auntie Mozu or Beruka, he just pretends that he’s the same height as everyone else! It’s going to get him killed on the battlefield one day, I swear.” 

Kamui frowned at her daughter’s pessimism. “Come now, don’t be so negative. I’m sure he’ll start taking things seriously if his life is actually in danger. Well, after a little discipline from myself, of course.” She snickered and took Sophie’s hand to pull her closer to the hammock. “Did you know I was out here?” 

Sophie nodded in affirmation. “Mhm. Uncle Xander told me that no one could find you around the castle, so I figured you must be in the Astral Plane. I had Kana open the path here, but I had to pull his ear to get him to bite. I don’t know what’s got you down, but you always go here when you’re not feeling the best.” 

The princess let out a sigh and put her hand on her daughter’s hair; she was one of the people that knew her best, so it was no surprise that Sophie would be able to deduce where she was. Seeing as how she and her son (as well as Corrin…) were the only ones able to access it without the aid of Lilith, Kamui always sought refuge in the one place where she could be sure she would be alone. The tranquility of the area always helped to clear her mind and bring her peace. 

“So, what’s wrong?” Sophie asked with a tilt of her head. “…Is it about Corrin?” 

“No,” Kamui quickly denied before pressing her lips together. “Well, somewhat. Predictable, I know. Keep this between us, but Leo was really upset with me earlier. I guess he’s always felt inadequate due to the attention Corrin and I got from Xander and Camilla growing up. I spoke with Corrin recently and kept it to myself, and that got him rather angry. He just kept yelling at me and…I don’t know. I just ran away.” 

“Aw.” Sophie frowned and squeezed her mother’s hand. “That was pretty lame of him. It’s not like that stuff is your fault; why would he be mad at you? Plus, he should know that you don’t have the strongest mental fortitude. Yelling at you like that was a real mean thing to do.” 

Kamui would have gotten defensive had it been anyone else, but Sophie was right. Similar to how Peri had trouble distinguishing between enemy and bystander and controlling her anger, Kamui had found that she herself was quite susceptible to being overwhelmed by her emotions. She was constantly worrying herself about what others thought of her and did her best to please people, which frequently resulted in her overexerting herself and ending up exhausted. She took criticism even worse, especially when it came from people whose opinions she held in particularly high regard, such as her family. Once, Silas had made an offhand comment about how a cake she had made was rather bland, which resulted in her not speaking for an entire day out of shame. Of course, Silas had apologized profusely and showered her with affection for the next several days after that, even after she had moved past it. Her lack of emotional stability was something that terrified her as the leader of an army. That in addition to the fact that she was fighting a war against someone she loved dearly made her constantly worried about making a decision that would cost dozens of lives. Luckily for her, the war had been dormant for the past five years, though she was certain that was about to change. 

“That’s the thing, Sophie. There’s no reason for him to know that.” Kamui closed both of her eyes once again before placing her hands on her knees with a downtrodden look on her face. “We aren’t close at all. We barely exchange words when we see each other in the castle. At this point, I think I know his own son better than I know him. I feel bad for him, though. Xander, Camilla, Elise and I are so close while he’s just…there.” 

Sophie put a finger on her chin and mused on her mother’s words. Her only sibling was Kana, so she could not fully relate, though she felt that she understood. 

“That makes sense. I know it’s not exactly the same, but he reminds me of someone like Velouria. Siegbert, Forrest, and I are all really close cousins, but when it comes to Velouria…I don’t know. I guess her personality makes it hard for her to make friends, even though she grew up with those guys. She’s friends with Kana, though. Go figure.” 

“There’s something else, too…” Kamui began, biting her tongue. “Corrin sent a letter requesting for us to come have dinner with him in Izumo. It’s neutral territory, so there’s little risk of attack, but we’re nonetheless wary.” 

Sophie bit her lip and aimed her eyes towards the blades of grass at her feet. “Um…who’s ‘us’?” 

“Just his siblings. Sorry, Sophie. I’m sure you’ll be able to meet him one day, once all this is over.” 

While she was frowning, Sophie shrugged it off and moved on. “Oh, well. You should go! But on that note, once we win, what are you planning to do, anyway?” 

Kamui blinked and stared at the teenager before her. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, this isn’t just some family drama, you know. It’s war. People on both sides have died. There’s got to be some sort of repercussions for the loser, right?” Sophie asked. “So, what I’m asking is once we win, what are you going to do with Corrin and the rest of the Hoshidan royals?” 

Thinning her eyes, Kamui held her tongue between her teeth and thought about the question. It was not as if she had not asked herself the same thing time and time again in the past, but all of those occasions concluded with her pushing it off since it did not matter at the time. Aside from her father, no one had ever asked her that before. It was a difficult question indeed. She possessed no desire to kill Corrin and held no contempt for any of the Hoshidan royals, so ending their lives was off the table. She could always imprison them, but…the thought of Corrin spending the rest of his life rotting away in a jail cell made her stomach turn. There was also the matter of his children. He had two little girls and Kamui was just supposed to separate them from their parents forever? Surely Iago would call for something akin to a public execution, but once he was dead and Xander took the throne, none of the snake’s desires would matter anymore. Regardless, she and her older brother would have a series of difficult decisions to make. 

A thought crossed Kamui’s mind—what would Corrin do if _ he _was to one to emerge from this war victorious? Hoshido was a much more merciful country than Nohr, but considering the peculiar nature of this particular war, there was a possibility that they might not be so forgiving. Nohr had now been directly responsible for the deaths of both their previous reigning monarchs as well as the current king’s late wife. Surely the people would wish for some justice or closure, but Kamui knew her brother. He had always been a tender, loving, and compassionate person. If she would not kill him, then surely he would spare her life as well. 

At least, that’s what she told herself.

Kamui may have been close with her twin brother at one time, but years had gone by without contact. They were enemies in war actively working one another now; It was entirely possible that he was now a completely different person. Even during their meeting a few weeks prior he seemed different, which was something that did not go unnoticed. If…if Nohr were to lose, would he go as far as to kill her? If not her, then Xander? Any of her companions? The very thought of that future coming to fruition made her head throb in pain, so she locked the idea away and tossed away the key, swearing to herself that she would absolutely win this war. 

“What?” Kamui asked. Truthfully, she had forgotten the question, but it quickly returned to her. “Oh. I don’t know, Sophie. We’ll get to that when the time comes.” 

Never one to question her mother, Sophie simply nodded. “Alright, fair enough. In any case, it’s getting pretty late back home. You don’t want to be out here too long, do you?” 

“No, I guess I don’t.” Kamui let out a heavy sigh before swinging her feet off of the hammock and standing up with a stretch, letting some of her joints pop and yawning. She expected to walk with her daughter into an empty room when she stepped through the portal she created, but instead she was tackled from the side into a hug. Her heart raced in her chest as she fell onto the polished wooden floorboards. Though, her nerves were soon eased when she saw that it was only Elise. 

“Gods, Elise,” she breathed as she snapped her fingers to close the doorway once Sophie stepped through. “You scared me half to death. Were you waiting for me in my room this whole time?” 

“Darling, of course we were. You always come straight here when coming back from that pocket dimension of yours.” 

Gasping, Kamui sat up straight while Elise released her. Sitting on the bed that she and Silas shared was Camilla, Xander and Leo standing on either side of her. Kamui looked to her daughter for an explanation but only received a wink and a wave goodbye before she exited the room and left the siblings alone once again. 

Immediately, Kamui felt her face turning red as she became overcome with shame. She had hoped that she would have time to formulate a proper apology for running away. Instead, her siblings had caught her completely off guard and now had her cornered in her room. The princess desperately searched for the right words and began to choose a few at random, praying for the gears in her mind to start turning. 

“I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” Leo interrupted with a raise of his hand. Kamui promptly shut her mouth and stared at him, confused. “You don’t have to apologize. It was wrong of me to snap at you like that. I’m usually more level-headed, but…all those years of build up just exploded out of me, I suppose.” The prince sighed and rubbed his neck before smoothing his hair back. “It isn’t that I’ve always felt like I was in your shadow, but you got all the attention when we were kids. You were the special child, after all. I can justify rage over that a few years ago, but…we’re adults now. We’re all married with children, even. Well, barring Elise.” 

“Hey!” Elise pouted and crossed her arms with flushed cheeks, then turning away from her brother. 

“My point is that it isn’t on you. I spoke with Xander and Camilla here while you were gone and we’ve made up, to say the least. You _ are _ my sister, Kamui. I love you.” 

When Leo stepped forward and extended his hand in an offer to help her up, Kamui felt tears welling in her eyes. _ No, _ she told herself. _ Don’t cry over something like this. It’s no use. _With a semi-forced smile, she took her brother’s hand and rose to her feet, then being pulled into a hug. Xander, Camilla, and Elise joined as well. The embrace lasted for several moments before Leo broke it, putting his hand over his mouth to clear his throat and look away, clearly not used to such affection. 

“Now with that out of the way…the Izumo dinner. Have you made a decision? Do you want to go?” 

Kamui bit her lip and nodded. “I think it would be good for all of us. Regardless of what comes out of it, getting to see him again is worth it. There’s also the chance that we could all convince him to put an end to the war—or even let him on in Shigure’s plan. Though, there’s also the matter of his Hoshidan brothers and sisters.” 

“I’ve wanted to meet that Ryoma again since that day at the border. I…I want to give my condolences for the loss of his child’s mother. I may not have been there and it may have been years ago, but I feel that it is something I must do,” Xander said.

Kamui shuddered upon being reminded of Ryoma’s late wife. Weeks after the siege of Cheve, she had almost vomited when she learned who the woman whose beheaded she had witnessed was married to him. If she had known at the time, she would have stopped that wretched man Hans from doing what he did. She could only imagine how Ryoma must have felt having her killed so soon after giving birth to their first and only son. 

“We didn’t really part ways on the best note…” Elise added, pressing her fingers together. “I want us all to make up. Even if we’re supposed to be fighting each other, there shouldn’t be any contempt between us. We’re brothers and sisters, after all.” 

“I’d also like to give Princess Hinoka a piece of my mind. I’ve seen a handful of Hoshidan news publications claiming that she’s awfully protective of our Corrin. That’s supposed to be _ my _job,” Camilla added with a vein bulging on her forehead as she clenched her jaw. The siblings all laughed in response before Xander spoke. 

“Alright, we should be heading off to bed now. Kamui, leave preparations for the trip to me. You take the next few days to clear your head before we depart.” 

The princess smiled at her older brother’s selflessness. One by one, her siblings waved goodbye and said their goodnights, finally leaving the woman alone and allowing her to undress and get into bed. 

* * *

Izumo’s palace was not an unfamiliar place to Corrin. In the past five years, he had visited numerous times at the request of Izana, who seemed to have taken quite a liking to him after being freed and rescued from the clutches of Zola. These visits were always casual and involved taking part in the various recreational activities available in the palace, something that Kara appreciated most of all. 

Now, he stood outside the doors of the palace’s main dining hall with Kagero at his side. As this was a formal occasion, he had abandoned his usual armor for a solid black kimono complete with a black and white striped hakama over it, all tied together with a large white ribbon wrapped around his midsection. His bangs were pinned back in order to give off a more formal aura. Unfortunately for him, Kagero’s strong grasp did nothing to help his trembling hands. 

“Will you be alright?” she asked with concerned eyes. “I know you set the condition that spouses weren’t allowed, but if I were to accompany you—” 

“No,” Corrin put sharply before forcing his body to cease its shaking. “No…I’m sorry, Kagero, but this is something I have to do alone. They’re all in there waiting for me. They might even cancel the dinner if I were to enter and my wife were with me.” 

While disappointed, Kagero reluctantly nodded her head. “That is true…alright. Remember, regardless of what happens in there, I’ll be just upstairs. I’ll always support you no matter what.”

Corrin gave her a small smile before planting a tender kiss on her forehead. He then hugged her and lovingly stroked her back, maintaining the embrace for an eternity before finally letting her go and sighing. With a silent and confident nod, Kagero turned around and walked away, leaving her husband to place his hands on the double doors and close his eyes, steeling his nerve before finally pushing through. 

Upon opening his eyes, Corrin was greeted by the warm lights of the hall beaming down over the red carpet and the eleven individuals seated around the long oaken dining table, all of their eyes locked on him. His Hoshidan siblings like him were all dressed in traditional kimono and yukata, save for Hinoka who wore her own crimson red pantsuit. On Nohr’s end, their attire ranged from tuxedos for the boys and dresses for the girls, with Elise wearing a particularly eye-catching short cut one made of a soft looking pink fabric. Kamui was wearing a modest yet snug fitting black dress striped white at the bottom as well as a black choker around her neck, her red eyes intense as she stared at Corrin wordlessly making his way towards his seat between Takumi and Hinoka. Izana donned his usual holy garbs and sat at one end of the table while Lilith sat at the other end, wearing a rather nice looking sparkling turquoise colored sleeveless dress, her usually braided hair now let down. She waved at Corrin as he entered, prompting his frown to turn into a small smile. 

Izana beamed and clapped his hands together joyfully once Corrin took his seat. Ever the social butterfly, he was the first to initiate conversation. 

“Corrin! So nice of you to join us. It’s been awfully quiet around here since we all arrived, so I’m glad that we can start? How are you holding up, hm?” he asked with a tilt of his head. 

Hands in his lap, Corrin nodded and cleared his throat, purposely focusing his eyes on Izana. “Yes, thank you. I’ve been well. It’s good to see you again, Izana.” 

Kamui began to feel uneasy looking at Corrin, so she turned her gaze to Xander, who was doing the same thing she just was. The look in his eyes was indescribable. Having not seen his beloved brother in over five years, he stared at him with wide, longing eyes. The man looked as if he had been shown the true form of a god and was now in awe. Even his mouth hung slightly open. 

Leo simply looked at Corrin with thinned eyes and his arms crossed. He had a conflicted look on his face, as if he was simultaneously annoyed as well as deeply hurt. He did not appear to be breathing, for his lips were pressed together and his chest remained static. 

The girls were a different story. Camilla held her hands over her chest and was tearing up at the sight of her precious little Corrin. She looked as if she were about to get up out of her seat and pull him into a huge in which he would never be freed from. Elise, on the other hand, was the only one of the five who appeared genuinely happy. Her eyes were shimmering with joy and she bore a wide grin on her face. 

“Corrin…” she placed her hand over her mouth to try and hide her excitement, but it was a fruitless endeavor. “It’s good to see you again, Big Brother. It’s been a while.” 

In spite of his nerves, Corrin could not prevent a smile from breaking out on his face. Seeing his siblings again after all these years made his heart race. “Elise. Gods, you’ve gotten so big…and Xander, you have facial hair now. Leo looks so grown up.” 

“I could say the same about you, Little Prince,” Xander replied with a smile. Corrin drew in a sharp breath and shuddered—he hadn’t been called that in years. “You certainly seem more mature than the last time I saw you. I’m glad.” 

“He is,” Ryoma agreed, stone-faced. “These last few years spent with us has been quite the experience for him. He certainly isn’t the same man he was the day he came home from your country.” 

“Of course he isn’t.” Camilla glared at the king and leaned forward. “Over half a decade spent away from his brothers and sisters; it’s no wonder he’s changed so much.”

Hinoka scoffed. “You say that, but he’s been here with us the entire time.” 

“Hey.” Takumi closed his eyes and crossed his arms, already growing annoyed by all of this. “If we’re just going to be having petty arguments this whole time then we might as well just cut it here. Let’s keep the hostility to a minimum, people.” 

“Thank you, Takumi,” Corrin said with a smile. He then turned to Lilith and gave her an acknowledging nod before facing his gracious host. “Izana? What’s on the menu for today?” 

“Oh, I’ve had my boys cook up something special for you!” The archduke rose to his feet and gleefully clapped twice, signalling for his team of about half a dozen well dressed waiters to come pouring into the room. They set down numerous sets of silverware and several large saucers covered by a silver dome, as well as bowls and chopsticks, setting those down on Nohr’s side while the silverware was put on Hoshido’s. Ryoma furrowed his brow at this and looked to Izana. 

“Archduke Izana, I believe you may have mixed up which food goes where…” 

Izana shook his head with certainty before sitting back down. His waiters unveiled all of the food that they had set down before bowing and leaving the room. Laid out on the table was the traditional Hoshidan seafood and rice as well as Nohrian dishes such as steak and potatoes, beans, and pork. Kamui made up her face at the food before her; the last time she had eaten Hoshidan food was with her mother. 

“Nope! This is intentional. A little cultural exchange is always good, isn’t it? Go on, dig in! No need for formalities!” Izana was the first to reach over and begin to shovel all types of food onto his plate while the Hoshidans seemingly ignored his words and closed their eyes, joining hands and saying a silent grace before tentatively reaching for Nohrian cuisine. 

Sakura stared at the steak in particular with a grimace. “This seems…uncooked.” 

“Oh, no! It’s good, trust me. We used to have this all the time back in Nohr. That’s the best way to eat it, I promise.” Corrin had a wide grin as he watched his little sister cut off a small piece of the medium-well cooked steak before beginning to chew. By the look on her face, she appeared to be rather delighted. 

Camilla gave a melancholic smile. “I used to cook that for him all the time when I’d visit the fortress. I hope you like it, Princess Sakura.”

“I do,” she answered. “I don’t eat meat often, but…this tastes good.” 

As the rest of his Hoshidan siblings began to eat, Corrin could not help but notice the frustrated look on his sister’s face as she struggled to put a piece of shrimp on her plate with a pair of chopsticks. The rest of the Nohrians seemed to be having no issue—Lilith included. Rising, he quickly made his way over to her and held his hand out. She recoiled at first, but bit her tongue in defeat and handed the chopsticks to him. He then proceeded to essentially pick her food for her and put various pieces of sushi, fish, rice, and vegetables on her plate before returning to his seat. 

“You’re supposed to keep the food separate, you know,” Hinoka pointed out, but Corrin waved it off. Something as trivial as that did not matter for such a special occasion. 

“Well then, Little Prince. Tell us, how have you been these past few years? Surely life in Hoshido is vastly different from how it was in Nohr.” Xander gave his little brother a pleasant smile before taking a sip of water, then gently setting the glass down on its coaster. 

“It’s been great; thank you. I’m sure you know by now that I got married and even have two daughters now. I know you’ve wed as well, but I don’t know anything about your child. How is he?” 

“Oh, Siegbert?” Xander chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “Why, he’s certainly a handful, that’s for certain. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. Headstrong, noble, chauvinistic, all of it. I think you would like him.” 

With an eager smile, Camilla chimed in. “And my Velouria is simply wonderful, dear. Sure, she may be a little too much like her father and hoard useless trinkets like her life depends on it—and maybe she is a bit of a daddy’s girl; and maybe she doesn’t play well with others…ah, what I’m getting at is that I love her very much. You’ll have to meet her one day!” 

With Camilla out of the way, all eyes turned to Leo’s grimace. Suddenly becoming conscious of his expression, the prince straightened out his face and regained his composure. 

“My son is…interesting. He isn’t the most masculine boy in the world—which, of course, is fine, but…he takes it a step further. Let’s just say that you wouldn’t think he was a man if you were to run into him on the street.” 

Kamui looked to her brother’s eyes with the intention to see his reaction to Forrest’s description, but to her surprise, his only reaction was to look her in the eyes as well. They quickly looked away from each other but could not help but chuckle a bit, since they knew that the same thought was in each other’s heads; Forrest was the exact type of boy Corrin would have swooned over when he was younger. 

“You already know what my children are like,” Kamui began. “Kana hotheaded, Sophie stubborn.” 

Unexpectedly, someone from the Hoshidan side of things spoke up. “You d-don’t have any kids, do you, Princess Elise?” 

Elise’s face burned a crimson red and she rapidly shook her head as well as her hands in denial. “No no no no no! I ah, haven’t found anyone yet! I’m not in a rush to settle down with someone, so I think I’m just going to take it slow!” The princess proceeded to stuff her face with as much rice as she could and averted her eyes to avoid further embarrassment. Smiling at this, Sakura continued to speak. 

“That’s fine, there’s no rush. Besides, having kids is a lot, both on the body and the mind. It’s a weird feeling that my own daughter is already much taller than I am…” 

“Is she now?” Takumi asked with a smirk. “I haven’t seen Matoi in what seems like forever. As for Kiragi, he’s about as tall as I was when I was his age, so he’s a little guy. Total opposite of my personality back then, though. That kid’s an optimist from head to toe. Ryoma?” 

A smile of mixed emotions appeared on Ryoma’s face and he rubbed his neck, humming for a moment. “Shiro is a good man. He’s very friendly and sociable, though I find that he can be a bit quick to rush into things. I would describe him as…rash. I’m certain that his decision making would be better if he simply took the time to think them through.” 

Kamui bit down on her tongue; the person in question was the very same child that Ryoma’s wife had given birth to shortly before being murdered by Hans. A sense of dread fell over the girl and she felt her body growing hot. The thoughts in her head increased in volume so much that she did not even hear Hinoka’s comments about her own daughter, Selkie. What if someone were to bring up that day and ask her about it? She, Camilla, and Elise were all present, but she herself had not encountered any of the people at the table. They couldn’t _ prove _that she had anything to do with the attack on Cheve—though considering her position in the army, it was only natural that she would. What if they started prodding her with questions about the attack? About the circumstances of Scarlet’s death? About Nohr’s plans for the future? What was she to say? 

Noticing his sister’s pained expression, Corrin frowned and set down his silver utensils. He placed his hands in his lap and leaned forward with a look of concern. As children, Kamui was always the stoic one, but he had noticed that ever since that fateful day when their mother passed away and the twins went their separate ways, she seemed to be letting her emotions get the best of her. She’d wept during their first fight in Hoshido, she had seemingly lost her nerve during their confrontation in Cyrkensia, and she had even sobbed during their reunion weeks prior. This wasn’t at all like the Kamui he once knew. 

“Kamui? Are you—”

“Why isn’t Azura here?” she blurted out, her knuckles losing their colors from the grip on her dress tightening so hard. “We’re all supposed to be present for this, but no one’s so much as mentioned her yet. Why?” 

“Azura unfortunately couldn’t make it. She told us all at the last second that she had matters to attend to regarding her daughter, Midori. We obviously couldn’t reschedule on such short notice, so here we are,” Ryoma answered. 

“She has another kid?” Elise asked with curious eyes. “Wow! Here I thought Kamui was being ambitious when she decided to have another baby, but I guess that two must be in style. Are you planning on having more kids, Ryoma? It never hurts to have another heir to the throne.” 

Several of those sitting around the table grimaced, Ryoma of course among them, though his expression was more pained than anything. Realizing what she had said, Elise gasped and promptly covered her mouth with her hands, but it was too late. The damage had been done. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize! Please, I didn’t mean any disrespect.” 

Ryoma forced a regal smile and held his hand up to signal to Elise that all was well. “Worry not, I know you meant no harm. Truthfully, I have considered the possibility of taking on another wife sometime in the future, but...I do not think I could do so in good conscience. There isn’t a woman on this planet who could take Scarlet’s place in my heart.” 

“Scarlet, yes. Your wife.” Xander pursed his lips before continuing to speak. “My apologies for bringing up a sensitive topic, but we do know that she unfortunately died during the siege of Cheve years ago. As the future king, I extend to you my deepest condolences and assure you that my sisters, brother and I had absolutely nothing to do with it. If we could have stopped the man who did it—”

“Don’t.” 

Turning his head to his side, Corrin grimaced at his younger brother tightly gripping the silver fork in his hand and pressing it hard against his plate, threatening to either crack the stone or bend the metal. None of the Hoshidans appeared to be pleased by Xander’s words, but Takumi in particular seemed enraged. 

“Pardon?” Xander inquired. 

“Don’t give us that crap. You think it matters whether or not any of you _ approve _of the things people do in the name of your country? You weren’t even there; stop trying to shift the blame to someone else and take some damn responsibility for the actions of your men.” 

“But he isn’t one of our men…” Kamui mumbled with her head held low. “I didn’t have any say in him accompanying us—he’s someone that our father appointed.” 

“That doesn’t matter,” Hinoka harshly retorted, a glare on her face. “Whoever is he is, he still represents your country on the battlefield. Tell me, did he receive any kind of consequences for his brutality at all? Or was he praised for his combat prowess? You Nohrians sure do love making a show of war, after all.” 

Kamui bit her tongue and pressed her fingers together, refusing to look up and face anyone. Now, the spotlight was on her. 

“N-no, but he wasn’t—”

“So where’s the justice, huh?” Takumi asked as he placed his hands flat on the table and stood up slightly, growing more and more angry as the seconds passed. “The man who made a spectacle of murdering a woman whose only goal was to free her people from the oppression of _ you _ lot is walking around right now without a care in the world. Did you even try to get him punished at all? Or did you just sit there and watch him continue on scot free?” 

Hot tears were now threatening to spill from Kamui’s eyes, but the princess blinked them away and steeled herself, holding on to the fabric of her dress tightly. Takumi didn’t understand—none of them did—and trying to explain the situation to them would be a fruitless endeavor. They were dead set on demonizing her and her siblings as well as painting all Nohrians as irredeemable scum. Regardless, she took a deep breath and continued to speak. 

“The man who killed Scarlet is no friend of any of ours’, I can assure you of that. If we had tried to have him punished, then the king no doubt would have done even worse to all of us.”

“So you’re cowards then!” Takumi spit, slamming his fist into the table and making both Elise and Sakura squeal in shock. “Living in fear of your own king like craven dogs! And yet you still carry out his will as if you’re his loyal puppets!” 

Lilith shuffled in her seat before gently setting down her glass of water. “Takumi, there’s no need to yell…” 

Ignoring Lilith’s words, Takumi continued to berate the Nohrian siblings. Xander looked ashamed, Elise mortified, Leo annoyed and Camilla appalled. As for Kamui, Corrin could only describe her expression as despaired; as if every word that Takmui spat cut directly to her heart. 

“If your morals are just, then who gives a damn about who’s in power? Grow a backbone and stand up for what you believe in, for the gods’ sake.” Takumi let out a deep breath before slowly settling back down into his chair, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. “If you blindly follow a corrupt leader only out of fear, then you’re no better than he is.”

“Takumi,” Corrin began with an assertive edge in his voice. “Please. I understand where you’re coming from, but try and put yourself in their shoes. I’m sure it’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be.” 

Hinoka groaned and looked at her brother with disappointed eyes. “Corrin, must you _ always _come to Nohr’s defense? You’re supposed to be the top commander of our forces, and yet you’re always sympathizing with the enemy. You do realize that they’re the aggressors in this entire war, right?” 

“Yes, Hinoka, I do. However, the people sitting across from us right now don’t embody all of Nohr. They are all my siblings, and I love them all just as much as I love you. I can’t allow you to insult them simply for doing what any royal family of any country would do in their position.” 

Finally, Sakura chimed in. “B-but you defected to help us. What’s stopping them from doing the same?” 

Corrin pressed his lips together and averted his eyes. “That’s different. By then, I’d already spent time with you all and made up my mind to remain here in Hoshido. None of them have any relation to you except for Kamui.” 

“Ah, well if this isn’t the perfect time to ask this, then.” Takumi sat up straight and focused his eyes on Kamui, freezing her in her seat with his stare. “Kamui. Tell me, what made you choose Nohr over us? You sure as hell seemed loyal to our country during your little speech at the square.” 

Kamui’s throat felt dry and her hands were trembling, but she forced herself to speak nonetheless. “My…my family. I could never abandon them, no matter what. They mean too much to me.” 

Takumi sneered. “Even though they’re the reason our mother is dead?”

“Takumi!” Ryoma exclaimed. 

“That’s enough! That was the work of Garon—all of it! There’s no way that any one of my brothers or sisters would willingly allow the senseless deaths of others! They’re good people!” Corrin glared daggers at his brother and grit his teeth. “Garon is the one that deserves your hatred—and now that he’s dead and gone, it’s Iago!” 

While Corrin continued to argue with Takumi, Kamui slowly turned her attention to her eldest brother. To her surprise, Xander’s expression had gone dark from Takumi’s harsh words. To anyone else he would have appeared to be frustrated or even angered, but Kamui knew her brother well enough to tell that that was not the case. No…no, Xander’s expression was not one of contempt, but _ guilt. _

“Xander…?” she asked with concern heavy in her voice. “What is it?” 

“I—” The prince’s voice caught in his throat and he grit his teeth. His breath shaky, he pushed his plate forward and put his arms on the table, his head in his hands. “I’m sorry, Kamui, Corrin. I’m sorry, everyone. I should have been honest with you from the start.” 

Camilla frowned and gently placed her hand on Xander’s back. “Xander? What do you mean? What are you talking about?” 

“Back then,” Xander continued, “when Father gave that cursed blade to Corrin…I knew full well of what was to come.” 

All went silent as Corrin’s brow furrowed. He had of course had his suspicions in the past, but he’d always brushed them off. After all, he trusted Xander. He was their kindhearted, loving older brother who would never do anything to hurt them. There was no way he could have anything to do with the tragedy in Shirasagi. 

“That’s impossible. Garon gave Ganglari to me before Rinkah and Kaze took us to Hoshido—there’s no way you could have known that we wouldn’t be returning to the castle immediately.” 

“It was all luck,” Xander choked out. “We’d anticipated that you’d be defeated at the border and taken to Hoshido. Then, we’d have Ganglari eliminate the queen. I’m so, _ so _sorry.” 

“Then what about Hans!? If we were supposed to be taken to Hoshido, then why’d he murder Gunter for no reason? Why did he try to kill us?” Corrin asked, his speech getting hastier and more frantic by the moment. 

“I don’t know! That man does whatever he damn well pleases—you know that!” 

“And that man that took Ganglari from me—who was he, then!? He vanished without a trace! It couldn’t’ve been Iago; I encountered him again weeks later and I know for certain that it wasn’t him!” 

“I don’t know that, either. Father didn’t tell me everything…all he said after you were taken was to deploy our troops so that we’d arrive right after Queen Mikoto was gone…”

Camilla gasped, her eyes wide in shock. “_ That’s _why you were so eager for us to leave as soon as we did.” 

Trembling, Kamui spoke in a small voice. “No…but…I was nearly killed in that attack. I would have been torn to shreds by shrapnel if Mother hadn’t protected me. Surely you wouldn’t have let that happen, Xander…right?” 

Xander squeezed his eyes shut and further lowered his head. He couldn’t bear to look anyone in the eyes. Elise drew in a sharp breath once she realized the answer and pressed her back against her chair, horrified. 

“You were going to let us _ die _?” Corrin asked with his eyes thinned in disbelief. “No…Xander, that can’t be true.” 

“If…if Hoshido were to lose its figurehead, we were under the impression that morale would be so low that they would surrender. I offered so many alternatives as to how we could go about it, but Father and Iago were insistent that we send you both in and strike when the time was right.” Suddenly, Xander grit his teeth and slammed his fist into the table, rattling the silverware. “I hate myself for going through with it. You two mean so much to me, but…I was so concerned with my duty as prince that I let it blind me to the love I hold for my dear Little Prince and Princess. I don’t fault you if you don’t wish to forgive me. I don’t forgive myself.” 

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Xander slowly raised his head to see the faces of those around him. Each expression practically shattered his heart. Hinoka and Takumi looked furious, as if they were on the verge of lunging across the table and wringing Xander’s neck. Ryoma appeared to be growing ill, a deep frown on his mouth and his face becoming a sickly color. Sakura had her face covered with her sleeves.

When it came to his side of the family, Camilla bore a look of betrayal on her face. She knew Xander best of all, so to be delivered such news came as a shock. As for Elise, Xander thought that she looked as if she no longer knew him. Leo appeared content—as if he had expected this for a while. As for his beloved twin siblings, both had tears in their eyes. Kamui resembled a child who had been yelled at by her older brother and was trying not to cry while Corrin simply looked horrified by his brother’s actions. To Xander’s shock, Corrin remained seated and just held his hands in his lap, trembling. 

“I…I understand,” he forced out with a grimace. “You were just doing what you thought you had to. As long as you realize—”

“_ YOU UNDERSTAND?! _” Takumi shot out of his seat and grabbed Corrin by the collar before angrily pulling him forward. “How could you say that?! He directly contributed to Mother’s murder; he was going to let you die! What the hell is the matter with you!?”

“He’s my brother!” Corrin shouted in response as tears began to spill forth from his eyes. “It was a lapse in judgement—it happens to all of us!” 

Takumi roughly shook his brother and glared at him, his bared teeth tightly clenched. “Why why _ why _ do you always defend them? After all of the strife and hardship they’ve caused us, you act as if they’ve done nothing wrong? Father, Mother, Scarlet, _ and _Setsuna are all dead because of them! What will it take for you to open your eyes and condemn these people? Would they have to kill one of us right here, right now, in front of you?”

Despite agreeing with his words, Hinoka felt that Takumi was being far too harsh on the man and began to reach out to put her hand on him, but Ryoma gently took her wrist and stopped her, shaking his head with a solemn expression. 

With a huff of hot air, Takumi squeezed his eyes shut and continued. “You may be my brother, and I know that, but you, Corrin, are absolutely _ spineless _. Despite everything Nohr’s done, you still—” Suddenly, he stopped speaking when he noticed the sound of Corrin’s audible sobs. Takumi opened his eyes only to be greeted with the sight of heavy tears rolling down his brother’s face and a runny nose, the man’s crimson red eyes now glistening.

“I can’t,” he choked out as Takumi slowly released him. “Th-they’re my brothers and sisters; I love them all so much. I _ can’t _hate them, Takumi.” He wiped his tears and nose with the sleeves of his dress shirt and sniveled. It was embarrassing being reduced to such a state in front of so many people. He could not help himself, however, for hiding his emotions was almost impossible in this situation. 

Corrin did not notice Camilla get out of her seat, but he figured that she must have when he felt himself being squeezed into a tender hug from behind. His heart was at once steadied. He recalled all the embraces he would receive from his elder sister as a child and how safe they always made him feel. Camilla softly placed her hand on his head and began to stroke his hair. 

“Thank you, Corrin. You don’t know how much it means for us to hear you say that.” Camilla stepped back and gave a loving smile. “I promise that none of us hold even an ounce of spite for you. We love you, you know. You’re our darling brother and nothing could_ ever _ change that.” 

Kamui felt the urge to add something, but was prevented from doing so by Hinoka clearing her throat. “Regardless of that, you’re still the enemy. It doesn’t matter what he feels for you or what you feel for him if our goal at the end of it all is to defeat you.” 

“What?” Lilith frowned in displeasure. “Hinoka, how could you say that? Of course their feelings are important. This isn’t just any old war—you know that. It’s a personal affair for every last one of us.” 

Hinoka scoffed. “And? Do you think the people of either country give a damn about that? Imagine the reaction from Hoshidan citizens if we give the people who’ve terrorized us for years special treatments because they’re ‘family’. Family matters aren’t settled by war.” 

“If feelings are so important, then why is it that you insist on being a neutral party?” Takumi inquired. “Surely you have your own opinions on all this, so why don’t you listen to your _ feelings _ and pick a side?” 

Lilith thinned her eyes in a lour. “You shouldn’t speak of things you know little of, Takumi. Don’t question why it is I do the things I do. Tell me, could you choose between Oboro and Kiragi? Your dear wife or your precious son? Of course you couldn’t.” 

Izana startled everyone at the table and stopped Takumi from responding with a loud and sudden clap. “Well now, let’s move on before things can get any more hostile, shall we? Who’s up for dessert? Boys!” He clapped twice more and like a mechanical machine, the waiters from before promptly reentered the room and retrieved everyone’s plates regardless of how empty they were, replacing them with platters of dessert before bowing and taking their exit. 

Now, the table was covered in various baked goods and other sweet treats. Cakes, tarts, strudels, ice cream and more now took up the majority of the space on the table. Despite the abundance of sugary snacks, however, a sense of bitterness still hung in the air. 

His tears having been wiped away and his heart thankfully steadied, Corrin remained still as his siblings unenthusiastically filled their plates with food that was meant to be eaten under much happier circumstances. Sakura gave him an inquiring look as to why he seemed to have no intent of eating, but he simply nodded in response. She understood. As for Kamui, she wordlessly cut a small piece from her slice of cake and put it in her mouth. It tasted just fine, but was nothing compared to the sweets that Peri often baked for her, sometimes with Soleil’s help these days. Perhaps it was the love that was put into the confections that made them taste so good, or maybe the mother and daughter were simply better chefs than Izana’s team of professionals.

Corrin cleared his throat and drew everyone’s attention away from their food and to him. “I…we should put an end to this war. Soon. I’ve ah…I’ve had our top tactician, Yukimura, draft up a peace treaty, and—”

“No,” Kamui interrupted, slowly shaking her head. “Corrin, I know you want this to be over and done with as soon as possible but…this war can’t end with a piece of paper. You know that.” 

Takumi scoffed. “She’s not wrong. Every single person at this table knows how this is going to end. When all is said and done, I doubt most of us will even still be alive.” 

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Sakura retorted with a sad frown. “You make it a reality by speaking it. If we could just all come to an agreement, no one else would have to die.” 

“I’m afraid that just isn’t possible, Princess.” Xander let out a pained sigh and ran his hands through his hair. “Our king would never agree to such a thing. All he cares about is blood and conquest.” 

“You can’t surrender. He’d use everything our army has to offer to utterly decimate your country.” Kamui set her utensils down and placed her hands on the table as Hinoka sneered.

“It’s like you’re reveling in all this. Don’t you _ want _the war to end? You don’t want us to surrender, so what are we to do?”

“_ Keep fighting _,” Kamui answered with a lean forward and pleading eyes. Her Nohrian siblings looked at her with curious expressions. If Shigure’s plan was to be successful, then Nohr would have to come out victorious in the conflict. Despite this, Kamui was encouraging the enemy to continue and fight. “This is war, and there has to be a victor. You can’t give up and neither can we, so the only option you have is to keep fighting. Defend your country with everything and your power and be relentless in battle. You can’t allow a foreign invader to dominate without a fight.” 

“So you admit that Nohr is in the wrong here, do you?” Takumi asked with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face. His confidence was quickly shut down by Kamui’s death glare, something Corrin had almost lost his familiarity with over the years.

Xander opened his mouth to speak, but Kamui continued. “Of course I do. What, do you take me for an idiot? Anyone in their right mind could look at this conflict’s history and see clear as day that we’re the bad guys, but I don’t care about that. I’m going to continue to fight for my country—no, my _ family _, and you all should do the same. Don’t lose your heart, lest you succumb to the wrath of King Iago.”

Hoshido’s king gave a somewhat somber nod. “I assure you, Sister, that we have no intention of doing so. So long as you continue to aggress, we will continue to defend.” 

Takumi was very obviously not in the mood for sweets, so he let the plate before him remain empty. “You won’t win, you know. We’ll beat you. If you strike us, we’ll strike back twice as hard. Don’t forget it.” 

Corrin frowned. “Takumi—”

“What? You know I’m right, Corrin. You’re smarter than her. Nohr might have more firepower, but it’s tactics that win wars, not brute force.” 

Camilla raised a finger to retort, but was stopped by Lilith’s loud groan. The dragon pulled at her hair before slouching forward in annoyance, then resting her head in her hands.

“Must you all be so combative? I get it, you’re angry, but we’re all adults in the room. Can’t we at least _ try _ and be amicable?”

“I’m with Lilith…” Elise added with a deep frown. “All this fighting is…we shouldn’t spend this entire time at each other’s throats. We’re supposed to be family here, in a weird way.”

“I’m not sure if you’ve realized, _ Princess _ , but we’re at war here. All we do is fight. And I don’t know where you got the idea that the people who’ve orphaned my siblings and I are family, but you’re mistaken. She,” Takumi jabbed a stiff finger towards Kamui, whose expression remained unchanging, “will _ never _ be my sister. To Hell with our blood relation.” 

Kamui could not help but crack a small smile at that last comment. It was the exact same sentiment she held all those years ago when she had drawn her sword on her brother, and now here a different brother was denouncing her as his sister with the same reasoning. 

The Nohrian princess took a final bite of cake and drink of water without a word before placing her hands on the table, pushing her chair back, and rising to her feet. “We aren’t getting anywhere. I’m sure we’re all rather busy, so there’s no need to waste anyone’s time any further. Archduke Izana, I thank you for the meal.”

Izana blinked, shocked at the sudden desire to bring the dinner to an end. “O-oh. Um…well, I’d love for you to stick around a little longer, but I guess there’s no helping it. I hope you enjoyed your meal!”

Corrin drew in a shaky yet sharp breath. “W-Wait! You’re leaving so suddenly; isn’t there anything else you want to discuss?” 

“No,” Kamui said flatly. “I think I’m done talking. I’m sorry that you didn’t get what you wanted out of this, Corrin.” Kamui stepped out from in front of her chair and gave a respectful bow towards the Hoshidan royalty. “Princes, princesses, I wish you a good day. Thank you for this wonderful meal.” 

As Corrin stared at Kamui, he found himself clawing into his dress pants and almost tearing right through them. It made his blood boil. Her sudden shift in attitude was infuriating. Not ten minutes ago she had been on the verge of tears and now she had the audacity to adopt that same faux regality she always put on around guests? His siblings may have bought it, but not him. No, Corrin knew his sister far too well for that. He knew she was cracking under the mask she cherished so dearly. 

“Let’s go, you four. Lilith, would you like to accompany us or would you prefer to stay with Corrin and his siblings here?” 

Corrin watched in growing fury as Lilith declined Kamui’s offer. It was absolutely despicable. How could she possibly be acting like this with full knowledge of the things she had done? First she had betrayed her _ true _ family as well as her _ true _country, then she had directly contributed to the deaths of so many people. The tiny island nation of Notre Sagesse had been damn near burned entirely to the ground—killing hundreds and displacing thousands. The small resistance force of Cheve had been massacred alongside Ryoma’s own wife. A people who only wished for their freedom snuffed out like the first embers of a growing fire. Then, there was Setsuna. Poor, sweet, innocent Setsuna, who had been killed at the hands of someone who would likely never even know her name! Corrin had no way of discerning the identity of the murderer, so there was no closure to be had. No retribution. No justice. 

Corrin kept it all inside as he bit down hard on his tongue, silently bidding his former siblings farewell and staring with an intense rage at Kamui as she turned her back on him, just as she had done when their mother had been murdered because of the man she was so eager to defend. Finally, the Nohrians left through the large double doors that slammed shut behind them. 

“Corrin.” Sakura held onto her older brother’s sleeve and looked at him with downtrodden eyes. “You don’t look well. Are you alright?” 

“I’m fine,” Corrin huffed, not giving her a second thought. Instead, he looked to his own older brother and took a step towards him. “Ryoma. Of those formerly in our brigade, how many are currently in Izumo with us? Just family, I presume.” 

Ryoma nodded, though slowly. It was evident that he was curious as to just what his brother was getting at. “You would be correct…currently, there are four aside from us. Oboro, Kaden, Kagero, and Subaki. Our nieces and nephew are present as well, as is my son. You brought your daughters along, too, did you not?”

“Yes, I did.” Corrin placed his right hand on his left hip and stood in silence for a moment as he closed his eyes. His Yato was safe with Kara, who was only a few minutes away from him on the second floor of the Izumo Palace alongside Kagero and Kotomi. “So there are fifteen of us here. That’s more than enough.” 

“More than enough…?” Lilith asked in a whisper, concern growing in her eyes. “Corrin, what do you mean? More than enough for what?” 

“Izana, I thank you again for hosting us. It was good seeing you again, old friend,” Corrin said. The Archduke of Izumo smiled and clapped once, tilting his head onto his hands.

“It was no problem! Though, I have to ask, I’m with Lilith here. More than enough for what? You’re making old Izana a little worried here.” 

Corrin took a deep breath before beginning to make his way towards the exit, his siblings and Lilith exchanging looks with one another before pursuing him. “This war has gone on long enough, and now’s the perfect opportunity for us to put an end to it. Gather anything you have with you; the instant the Nohrians cross the Izumo border, we strike.” 

“An ambush?!” Lilith exclaimed, horrified. “You’re going to attack them when their guard is down? What, are you planning on killing them?” 

“If that is what it takes, then so be it.” 

Ryoma grimaced, though Takumi and Hinoka appeared to have no qualms with this notion. Sakura on the other hand shared Lilith’s concern, as evident by the deep frown on her face. 

“I-isn’t an ambush dishonorable?” the young princess pointed out. “As a country, we’ve never ambushed any of our enemies in the past.”

“That was the past. Now is now.”

“Corrin, they’re your brothers and sisters! Surely you can’t be serious about this!” Lilith’s speech grew more and more exasperated by the second as Corrin’s walking began to pick up speed. She grabbed at his shirt only to be roughly shrugged off. “Corrin, stop and think about this for a second, damn it! Are you really going to kill the people you grew up with!?” 

Balling his fists, Corrin suddenly stopped his advance and turned around to glare at the woman. His expression was terrifying and something she had never before seen on him, and yet Lilith did not so much as flinch. 

“This is _ war _, Lilith, and they lost the right to call themselves my siblings a long time ago. I gave them a chance to end this peacefully and they refused. They made their choice, and now I’m making mine. If you want to scurry on over and warn them, then I won’t try and stop you. Just know that you’d only be making the fight more difficult than it has to be.”

Not bothering to allow her time to respond, Corrin once again turned around and continued his walking towards the palace staircase. Lilith let out a frustrated shout and stomped her foot on the ground with all of her might. The palace staff were shocked to see such a delicate looking girl crack the marble beneath her feet, but knew better than to stick their noses where it had no business being. 

“Ryoma! Surely you can’t approve of this! You of all people should never allow Hoshido to take part in the same tactic that cost the life of your father! You’re the king—do something!” 

Ryoma pressed his lips together, continuing to follow close behind his younger brother. “Those were…different circumstances, Lilith. My father was lied to before he was killed. There is no false sense of security in this situation.” 

“Bullshit!” Lilith called as she stormed after the siblings. By this point, her face was burning red. “Kamui and her siblings would NEVER be wary returning home from something like this, because they trust _ you _, Corrin! They have faith in you! You would never attack them when their guard is down, because you’re a good person! They love you!” 

Corrin’s hardened expression remained unchanged as he placed his hand on the staircase railing and placed his foot on the first step. “Then clearly they don’t know me as well as they think they do.” 

Before he could take another step, the spot where his foot would have been was shot with a bolt of black lightning that left a smoking burn atop the velvet carpet. Corrin slowly looked back and saw Lilith standing strong with her arm extended outwards, a black fog in her hand and dark electricity crackling around it. 

“No…” she said in a shaky breath. “You _ can’t _ do this—I-I won’t let you. I’ll stop you myself if I have to! You don’t have your weapons on you right now!” 

Corrin appeared to be completely unphased by his friend’s sudden display of power. The young man slowly blinked a single time before turning his body back and placing his foot on the second step. 

“You’re not capable of hurting me.” 

Lilith’s breath stopped. He…he was right. She had promised herself that she would do everything in her power to protect the twins, so she could never bring herself to hurt Corrin. Her spirit broke and she fell to her knees as he ascended the stairs to the second floor where his family sat waiting to receive orders. 

“No…” she whispered to herself as she fell further forward, now supporting herself with her hands. What was she to do? She told the twins that she would be neutral in this conflict. She had provided shelter, food, and weapons to both armies equally for so long and now she was supposed to remain silent while one sibling intended to ambush the other? Would she be betraying Corrin by warning Kamui?

The dragon balled her fists before letting out a breath of air and forcing herself to her feet, standing tall and shaking her head. “I promised to protect them _ both _, and if that means protecting them from each other…then fine.” Without so much as moving a muscle, the golden portal to the Astral Plane appeared behind Lilith. Eyes closed, she took a single step back and out of the material plane before shutting the door. She had to act fast if she were to be successful.


	20. Embrace The Dark

The moment the doors to the Izumo Palace dining hall shut behind the Nohrian royals, Xander let out a heavy sigh of relief and massaged his neck. None of his siblings said a word, instead standing in silence. Xander looked at each of them one by one. When no one so much as flinched, he decided to break the silence himself.

“Well, that did not go quite as expected. It is regrettable that—” 

Nobody saw Camilla move or Xander fall, but the very next moment, the prince was on the floor with his fingers gently touching the red handprint on his face and his younger sister standing over him with a scowl painted on her face. Elise gasped and covered her mouth while Leo and Kamui simply winced. 

“What the hell is the matter with you?” she spat, briefly lowering herself to grab him roughly by the collar and pulling him to his feet. “How could you possibly go along with a plan that would end in our siblings being murdered, Xander? Have you no love for them?” 

“Of course I do,” Xander said with his teeth grit. “It was a lapse in judgement; I would never even think about doing anything like that now.” 

“Tell me, what were you planning on doing if it all went according to plan, hm? Would you console Leo, Elise and I as we wept despite knowing full well that you were to blame for their deaths? Would you keep us in the dark until the day you met your end? You would just lie to us like it was nothing?”

“Never! I don’t know! I didn’t think that far ahead!” Xander jerked himself away from Camilla and backed up several paces, panting. “I was a fool, I admit it! But the Xander of that time and the man I am now are not the same. Believe me, sister, I’ve changed.”

Camilla clenched her fists as her face burned with fury. “Why now? Why wait until it was brought up—and in front of strangers no less! Surely you didn’t think you could get away with keeping it a secret forever!” 

“Please, Sister, just drop it!” Xander demanded as he stomped his foot on the ground. “What is shouting at me going to achieve?! I said I was sorry, and look, nothing came of it either way! Both Kamui and Corrin are still alive and well.” 

Camilla’s expression twisted in disgust. “_ Nothing came of it? _” she repeated. “Queen Mikoto is dead, as is the woman who was to succeed her, and Corrin is all but lost to us. By assassinating Hoshido’s ruler, all we’ve done is fan the flames of war. How could you not see what you’re responsible for, Xander?” 

The prince’s hands trembled as his eyes went dark and his shoulders began to slack. His mouth hung open for several moments as he prepared to give a response, but he stopped when he witnessed his little sister place her hand on Camilla’s shoulder and shake her head. At that moment, Xander could not take his eyes off of her. She had grown up so much over the years. No longer was she the short-tempered ball of repressed emotions that he had known. Now, she was a strong and intelligent young woman who was only a single rank away from having an entire army at her beck and call. Iago would never allow that to happen, though. Hans was too useful to him. 

“Camilla. Please.” Kamui squeezed the woman’s shoulder and gazed at her with pleading eyes. “There’s no need to antagonize him. He’s clearly regretful of what he’s done, so we shouldn’t shout at him. What’s done is done. We have to move on.” 

Camilla appeared to be pained by her sister’s words, but she knew that she could never be upset with her. Biting her tongue, she slowly nodded and unclenched her fists. 

“Fine then. Xander, we’ll talk later. For the time being, we should—”

The hairs on the backs of everyone’s necks stiffened as the doors behind them were suddenly kicked open, swinging fast and nearly being knocked off their hinges. “I changed my mind!” Lilith said, peeking out from behind the large blade of Bölverk—the axe that Camilla had inherited from her late father. Tucked under her arms were the various weapons wielded by the siblings, with Brynhildr being held in her hand. 

“Lilith?” Leo thinned his eyes in confusion. “You…changed your mind? That’s swell and all, but why are you holding our weapons? Doesn’t that seem a bit dangerous?” 

“I’m fine. For safety’s sake, take these. Here.” Lilith shoved the divine tome into Leo’s hands before allowing Xander, Kamui, and Camilla to each take their weapons, then handing Elise’s staff to her. It was a long pole made of a gold-like material with a shape that resembled a crescent moon around the red orb that housed the staff’s magical capabilities. “Hey, you guys didn’t bring any of your kids or spouses with you, didn’t you? I’m sure they must all be missing you a great deal. Let’s get going! Now.” 

“Well, frankly I’m sure that Velouria is doing just fine being alone with her father. She is a daddy’s girl, you know,” Camilla said. 

“Is she, now? That’s strange; a girl her age shouldn’t be that attached to her dad. All the more reason to leave now so that she can get to know her mother even more! Let’s go!” Lilith beckoned for the siblings to follow her as she began to speedwalk down the hallway. Kamui noted her fast-paced speech and the way in which she walked as if she were in a hurry, exchanging concerned looks with Elise before they all speedwalked after her. 

It was not until they were within their carriage and well on their way back to Nohr that anyone opted to question Lilith. Kamui took note of her nervously tapping her fingers on her knee and frowned. 

“Lilith, are you well?” she asked, leaning in. “You’ve looked anxious ever since you said you’d ride back with us. Is there something on your mind?” 

“No,” Lilith answered hastily before pursing her lips and putting her digits to rest. Immediately, she began tapping her foot instead. “Nothing on my mind. I’m fine.” 

“You don’t _ seem _ fine.” Elise pouted and crossed her arms. “Really, what’s up? You can tell us anything, you know.” 

The Astral Dragon shook her head and closed her eyes before deeply inhaling through her nose and holding the breath. “You’re worrying too much. Just…relax. We’ll be home in Nohr soon and then we can all rest. That being said, it isn’t as if things regarding the war are going to slow down anytime soon…” Lilith bit her bottom lip and gripped the fabric of her dress. “I don’t expect Iago to give you much time to idle. Knowing him, he’ll want to up the intensity of the war as much as possible the instant he’s able to. Do you think that—”

“You’re trying to change the subject,” Leo noted with a raise of an eyebrow. “Did…did Corrin say something to you to make you want to travel back with us? Is that what’s gotten you so worked up?” 

Sweat began to bead down Lilith’s face, which she quickly wiped away with her sleeve. A deep frown remained etched on her face as she turned her head and peeled away the curtains of the carriage slightly to peer out the window, eyeing the bumpy dirt road they were driving across. It was only a matter of time before the Hoshidans came for them. She had previously been holding out hope that Corrin would turn around and allow his Nohrian siblings to return home safely, but now was having second thoughts. Wouldn’t it be best to warn them? 

“I…I didn’t want to tell you, but—” 

Lilith nearly bit her tongue as the caravan suddenly rose up, leaving its occupants temporarily airborne before it slammed back onto the ground. It was as if they had run over a sturdy stone embedded in the road, but there was no way they could have been risen that high by just a rock. Everyone exchanged concerned and silent looks with one another before the caravan was violently shaken from the outside. Elise screamed in terror and grabbed onto Camilla’s arm, who held her close and reached for her axe. 

“Driver! What’s happening?” Xander called through the small window behind him. There was no response to be heard. Instead, the shaking ceased and the caravan began to gradually come to a stop, the wheels rotating slower and slower until they eventually ceased entirely. 

All was silent for several moments, the only sounds being the chirping and chatter of the woodland animals that inhabited the forest they were traveling through. When she felt the mayhem had ended, Kamui opened her mouth to speak, only to witness the silver blade of a lance pierce the caravan roof and tear right through it before disappearing. 

Lilith grimaced as she watched the black, sharp, scaled fingers of a Hoshidan prince shoot through the opening left by the lance before ripping a hole in the roof as if it were paper. Kamui’s eyes widened in horror when she processed the image of her twin kneeling above her in a form she had never seen before. The sharp and angular horns he bore in his dragon state now sprouted from his head and his wings were fully extended, his arms having undergone an almost complete transformation and a thick tail sprouting from his backside. He glared down at her with his crimson eyes burning with rage. Those same eyes that she herself possessed.

When she saw the blade of Corrin’s Yato, Kamui wasted no time jumping into combat. She transformed one of her arms before reaching out and extending it, seemingly creating draconian muscle from nowhere as she wrapped her hand around Corrin’s neck and forced him away from the caravan roof. 

“Go!” she said as she retracted her arm. She focused all of her strength into her fist and slammed it into the wall of the caravan, blowing it far away from the vehicle and creating an easy exit for her and her siblings. They all poured out of the caravan immediately with their weapons in hand and began to run opposite the direction they had been driving. They came to a skidding stop at once as they realized exactly what they were up against. 

Three in the air and on pegasi—Hinoka, Subaki, and a young woman with long strawberry pink hair who resembled the aforementioned man. On either side of them were two large canine beasts that blocked their escape paths left and right. One had a golden coat while the other was stark white with nine red-tipped tails that were swaying as if it were eager to pounce. Directly ahead of them were Takumi, Oboro, and a short boy with hair the same shade as Oboro’s who Kamui could only assume was their child. Oboro appeared differently than when she last crossed paths with the siblings, now with much shorter hair and a black eyepatch over her right eye. Behind them were Ryoma—who bore a stern look on his face as he tightly gripped the Raijinto—and a muscular young man with short blonde hair and a long naginata in his hands. 

Xander was about to call for his siblings to flee the other way before two ninja appeared behind them in a puff of smoke. He knew one was Kagero—the woman Corrin had married—and from the way the younger girl looked…well, it could only be one of his daughters. Xander was surprised that he would permit a little girl with glasses to fight, though he was also shocked that he’d resort to an ambush of all things as well. 

Leo grit his teeth as Corrin descended from the air after having been tossed so far by Kamui. The young man gently touched down and immediately began walking towards those whom he had once called siblings, a scowl on his face. 

“You’re outnumbered fifteen to six. Surrender at once and we’ll spare your lives.” Corrin spoke coldly and without a hint of hesitation all while his expression remained unchanging.. Leo shook his head. 

“I count thirteen. Surely you couldn’t miss something like that, Brother,” Leo retorted. 

Corrin blinked once—slowly—before raising his hand. From deeper within the trees emerged a dragon similar in appearance to Corrin’s own dragon form, only smaller and more slender. Sitting atop of the dragon was Princess Sakura herself, her body trembling as she gripped a healing staff. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Kamui noticed blood pooling from under the caravan she had just been in along with a single hand that twitched every few moments. They had killed the driver, no doubt. She bared her teeth at her brother and shook her head. 

“Is this what you’re stooping to? Killing innocents? Ambushing us directly after what was supposed to be a meeting of peace? Is _ this _the man you’ve become, Corrin?!” 

“Don’t bother taking the moral high ground. I don’t want to hear it from you of all people, traitor.” Corrin took a step closer before raising his sword arm and pointing the Yato towards them all. “I’ll repeat myself. Surrender now or meet your end. This war has gone on for far too long.” 

Kamui bit her tongue and whipped her head around. “Ryoma, surely you can’t approve of this as king of your country! You’d allow the same tactic that took the life of our father to claim our lives as well?” 

With dark eyes, Ryoma’s gaze seemed to bore right through Kamui’s very being. “You…your country has taken from me my mother. My father. My wife. Your lives…your lives mean nothing to me anymore. I do wish it hadn’t had to come to this.” 

Kamui took a closer look at the boy by the king’s side and her eyes widened in horror. The blonde hair, the freckles, those same brown eyes…this had to be the child of the woman whose decapitation she had witnessed five years ago. Ryoma’s son. She felt bile rising in her throat and surely would have vomited right then and there if it had not been for her sister addressing her in a hushed tone. 

“Kamui, we may not be able to do this. Without Hela, I’m not sure how much use I am in a fight in which we’re outnumbered.” 

“Corrin…you wouldn’t kill us, would you?” Elise whimpered in fear. 

Corrin’s expression did not waver for even a moment. 

“What do we do?” Leo whispered as he began to take on a look of genuine uncertainty. “We can’t surrender, but I’m also not sure that we can take all of them. We certainly don’t have the numbers to fight them all while simultaneously protecting Elise.” 

Kamui’s throat went dry while she reached for the handle of the Grim Yato. Leo was right. Neither of them knew magic advanced enough to get them out of this situation. Elise was too vulnerable. The Hoshidans had the numbers advantage as well as control of the air. Even if Kamui went into her dragon form, she would surely be overwhelmed in no time. 

Camilla gasped and turned Kamui’s attention to Lilith, who let out a deep breath and in doing so produced a small blast of purple flames from her mouth. Fire of the same color seemed to momentarily consume her before dying down and revealing that her hair had been let down and that she now donned ebony black armor, wearing every piece save for a helmet or gauntlets.

“I’ll explain later,” she whispered to the others before looking to Kamui with fierce eyes. “Kamui. You’re the leader. What are we doing?” 

The princess’ heart pounded in her chest. Logistically speaking, they should have surrendered. It was the only way to completely avoid the possibility of harm coming to her siblings or worse. And yet, her instincts only told her one thing. 

“RUN!” 

Two arrows came flying at the group the instant they began to flee, but Lilith grabbed at the air and stopped both with a dark aura that ensnared them. Takumi’s ethereal arrow disspitated while his son’s exploded into splinters, leaving both of them shocked. 

“Dad, what was that?!” the child inquired as he docked another arrow. 

“Doesn’t matter!” Oboro answered in Takumi’s stead as she began running to pursue the Nohrians. 

Xander focused only on sprinting, which meant that he was caught off guard when the girl with Corrin’s red eyes and his mother’s dark hair appeared before him in the blink of an eye. His throat would have been cut had he not leaned back at the last second. Kotomi did not let up even after her first failed attack, slashing repeatedly at him with her sharp dagger. Xander raised his foot and kicked her in the chest to knock her back before aiming Siegfried and firing a beam of purple energy right through her, causing her to stumble back and clutch at her stomach. Her mother did not take kindly to this, appearing slightly above Xander and delivering a swift kick to his jaw with her powerful legs. Kamui lunged to intervene, but was stopped by Corrin crashing down from the air directly in front of her.

“You brought this on yourself. Don’t forget it.” 

Before she even got a chance to process what he had just said, Corrin raised his sword arm and prepared to attack. Kamui extended her hand and immediately unleashed a blazing inferno of fire that would have set the forest ablaze had she not aimed at a high angle. To her surprise, when the flames dissipated, Corrin was completely unharmed. He had briefly protected his face by transforming his head into the same head he had in his dragon form before returning it to its previous state and burying his blade in his sister’s shoulder. 

Kamui screamed in agony as he withdrew the weapon from her body and prepared to strike again, only to be entangled in thick roots that erupted from the dirt and pulled him to the ground. Leo smiled for just a moment before turning to beckon Elise to work her magic on Kamui, though he was met with the gruesome sight of the powerful jaws of a fully realized Nine-Tails Kitsune clamping down on his baby sister’s arm. 

Elise delivered the loudest scream she had ever given in her life as the Kitsune’s fangs sank into her flesh and threatened to break bone. Luckily, the bite did not last long, as Camilla swiftly sank her ax in the Kitsune’s stomach and caused it to release Elise, being tossed to the side with a canine whimper. In a flash of light, the beast had turned into a youthful looking young blonde girl with a lock of red in her hair just like Camilla’s own daughter had. She lay on the ground as blood spilled from her mouth and stained the dirt, Kaden instantly making his way to her side and barking at both Kara and Sakura. 

Kamui was going to warn them about the trio of pegasus-riders diving at them from the air, but was knocked to the ground when Corrin slammed his tail into the side of her head, apparently having made quick work of freeing himself from the roots. Her vision was fuzzy, but she managed to catch Corrin’s Yato with her scale-clad hand and headbutt him in the chin. Blood now pooled in his mouth, but the prince was not about to let that single hit take him out. He tightly balled his fist and delivered a powerful punch to Kamui’s stomach, one that sent her flying back and slamming against a tree. She coughed up blood before wiping her mouth and struggling to stand. At this point, she desperately wished that she were wearing armor. 

Corrin rapidly approached her, flying low to the ground, but was stopped midair by Lilith capturing him with her unique purple aura. She stood with both arms outstretched and her teeth clenched, sweat heavily running down her forehead as she immobilized both Corrin as well as the trio of pegasus-riders. Once Camilla, Leo, and Elise were far enough away from them, Lilith closed her fist and forced the fliers into the ground, releasing them from her grasp before focusing all of her attention on Corrin and using her full force to slam him against a nearby boulder. Once he was released, Lilith took a moment to catch her breath and hunched over. She was about to stand up straight when a naginata’s blade pierced right through her armor and emerged from her stomach, the silver dripping with dark blood. She drew in a sharp breath and her eyes went wide with shock and horror as Shiro raised her in the air before tossing her aside, leaving her to stare at the ground as it became soaked with her own blood. Shiro, the boy whom she had visited dozens of times as he grew up, had just stabbed her as if it were nothing. 

“Lilith!” Kamui began to sprint towards her old friend just to be stopped by a bolt of lightning descending from the sky and striking the space before her. Looking ahead, she glared at Ryoma with his regalia aimed skyward. She wasn’t about to let him stop her. Sprinting right past Oboro, Lilith, and Shiro, she drew her sword and slammed it against the blade of the Raijinto. Ryoma retaliated by redirecting the strike and delivering a slash of his own. Kamui ducked under it and delivered a swift uppercut to Ryoma’s jaw, then grabbing his neck, raising him in the air, and slamming him into the ground. “Stay down,” she advised through grit teeth before turning her attention back to Lilith. 

She would have been at her side in no time at all had it not been for a tall, well-built woman wielding a lance blocking her path. Her mount had been taken out by Lilith’s attack, so she now had to fight on foot. Kamui bared her teeth and engulfed her hands in flames.

“Listen. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Leave me be and neither of us will have to get hurt.” 

“Tch.” The woman twirled her lance before aiming it at Kamui. “My name is Matoi. You are my aunt, and yet, I feel no sense of kinship to you. I’ll give you one last chance to surrender before—”

Kamui didn’t have time for this. She punched forward and launched a fireball at Matoi’s feet that crashed into the dirt. It exploded, sending smoke and dirt floating through the air. No normal human could have seen through it, but luckily for Kamui, she was no ordinary human. She took several long strides forward before grabbing the lance from the woman’s hands, snapping it in two with ease and slamming the blunt end into her attacker’s temple. Matoi’s eyes rolled back into her skull before her body went limp and she crumpled to the ground. 

The princess wasted no time in arriving at Lilith’s side, skidding on knees across the dirt and placing her hand on the woman’s cold steel armor. “Hey hey hey, stay with me, alright? We’re going to make it out of this.” 

Lilith grit her teeth in pain before quickly shoving Kamui off of her. Kamui was momentarily confused as to why she would do such a thing before she witnessed Lilith catch the blade of Shiro’s naginata in her hand. The sharp metal undoubtedly cut deep through her palm, but the dragon endured the pain and forced the blunt end back into the young man’s nose. He immediately took his hands off of his weapon to hold his broken nose and allowed Lilith to shoot up to her feet and deliver a single right hook to his jaw, luckily for both of the women knocking him out.

“This is my fault…” Lilith confessed, coughing violently and spewing blood across the ground. “If I had just warned you all the second I found out, then—”

“That doesn’t matter right now! Come on!” Kamui took Lilith’s hand and began to hurriedly walk her over to the tree which Leo and Elise had resided themselves too. Leo was locked in a ranged battle with Takmui and his son, casting spell after spell in an attempt to defend his little sister, who was working her own magic healing the ghastly bite wound her arm had sustained. When Leo noticed the pair approaching, he gave a small smile and utilized Brynhildr to erect thick roots and vines that wove together to create a dense wall to provide temporary cover. 

“Here,” Kamui said as she gently set Lilith down before Elise. The young princess temporarily ceased healing her own arm and turned her attention to Lilith, holding the orb of her staff near the dragon’s wound as it began to glow with a bright intensity. Meanwhile, Kamui checked on her older siblings and saw that they were beginning to be overwhelmed. 

Xander was impressively holding his own against Oboro, Kagero, and Kotomi, though the quicker ninjas were still frequently landing slashes against his limbs and slowly wearing him down. Nearby, Camilla handled Hinoka, Subaki, and Kaden fairly well, but had numerous bites running along her calves and thighs as well as a few slash wounds that tore up her dress. Kamui cursed under her breath as she saw Sakura finish healing the little Kitsune girl and bound off on Kara towards Corrin, beginning to heal him in no time thanks to the dragon’s impeccable speed. 

Kamui looked to her brother with despair-filled eyes. “We can’t keep this up. We just can’t.” 

“We can,” Leo responded without hesitation, biting his lip and staring at his tome intensely. “If…if we can kill either Ryoma or Corrin—”

“No.” Kamui shook her head and winced as pain pulsed from the wound in her shoulder. “We won’t. We can’t.” 

“Then what?” Elise asked desperately, the gash in Lilith’s abdomen slowly mending itself. “K-Kamui, they’re trying to kill us here. If we can’t kill them and we can’t run, then how the hell are we going to make it through this?” 

Though her head was pounding, Kamui knew she had to think fast. Her acute ears picked up the footsteps of Takumi and his son rapidly approaching. Xander and Camilla couldn’t defend themselves forever. She had to make a move immediately. 

“Lilith, how many of them do you think you could immobilize?”

“I don’t…have a limit,” Lilith groaned as her eyes closed. “Heavier things are harder, and the more things I do it to, the more it takes out of me.” 

“Do you think you could potentially do all of them? It wouldn’t have to be for long. Only for a few seconds.”

She nodded slowly. 

“Elise, are you done? Please tell me you’re done.” 

“Almost,” Nohr’s youngest princess answered as she focused her magic. Finally, the light faded from her staff, signalling the healing process was complete. “There. It’s an internal wound, so—” 

“I know.” Kamui took her little sister’s face into her hands and planted a loving kiss on her forehead before touching it to her own and closing her eyes. “I love you so much. All of you. Please never forget that.” 

The corner of Leo’s mouth twitched as he thinned his eyes. “Kamui, what are you—” 

Before he could finish, Kamui scooped Lilith up in her arms and rose to her feet before sprouting her wings, leaning forward and giving a single powerful flap. She may have been able to soar through the air like her brother, but she could certainly give herself a boost when she needed it. She zoomed past everyone on the battlefield until she was a decent ways away from where Corrin was being healed, then planted her heels firmly into the ground and skidded to a stop. She set Lilith down on her feet and called out. 

“Now!” 

As much as it strained her body and made her head pound, Lilith extended both of her arms and encased every Hoshidan present in a purple aura that rendered them completely immobile. Their eyes were wide in shock as they suddenly found themselves without control of their body, several of them being held in poses that would have been impossible to sustain on their own. 

“Lilith? Kamui?” Xander asked as he panted, using the moment of relief to press his hand against a stab wound in his shoulder. “What are you—”

“RUN!” Kamui shouted. She beckoned for all of her siblings to make their way towards herself and Lilith and they wasted no time in doing so, the elder siblings limping as fast as they could towards them while Leo raced towards them with Elise in tow. Xander glanced back as he passed them in no time with a concerned expression, Camilla doing the same. When Leo reached them, he stretched his free arm out and began carrying Lilith over his shoulder. This sudden movement caused the dragon’s concentration to break and blood to trickle from her nose as she was rendered unconscious, but that was of no concern to the commander. This was exactly what Kamui wanted. 

Kamui turned around to watch her siblings flee and gave them one last hopeful smile as tears filled her eyes. She then screamed in pain as one of Kiragi’s arrows sank into her thigh and caused her to fall forward on one knee, gritting her teeth. She was beaten. Bruised. Bloodied. But she would not give up, not here. 

“Don’t let them get away!” Corrin called as he rose to his feet, clutching at his head. “This isn’t finished!” 

Hinoka nodded as she, Subaki, Kaden, and Selkie all began to give chase, but Kamui knew she could not let that happen. She had of course anticipated that her siblings would be pursued, but she refused to let them suffer the same fate she would. 

Just as they had done on that fateful day that Mikoto met her end, Kamui’s scarlet eyes began to emanate a red steam-like aura as she let out a guttural scream and slammed her hands into the ground. The entirety of the earth around them began to shake before a multitude of colossal dense spikes of ice burst forth from the ground and blocked anyone from advancing. The several meter tall structures extended far into the forest on either side of them and blocked off any path of advancement. The spikes were so abundant in numbers and of such a great height that going through them was impossible and flying over would have been a difficult task. 

Once the barricade was fully formed, Kamui collapsed onto the dirt. The only things she were able to see were the boots of her adversaries. Dark spots danced across her vision as her eyes began to close by themselves. She heard Elise crying out her name, her voice growing more and more distant as the seconds ticked by. And finally, when he knelt down to look her in the eye, she saw the face of the man she had once known as her brother. 

Until all was black.

* * *

Silas usually was not a man who cared much for what he wore, but this day was a special occasion. Well, truthfully the event in which he was celebrating would not be for another three days, but he knew how busy his wife’s schedule could get. The man stared at himself in the mirror as he frowned and ran his thumb over his chin. 

“Should I shave?” he asked his daughter as she adjusted his silver bowtie. “I feel like I should shave. I should shave, shouldn’t I?” 

Sophie smirked and stifled a chuckle. “Dad, I’ve seen what you look like without any sort of facial hair. It’s like if someone took Kana and made him taller and more buff. You’ve got a babyface that’s only hidden by your stubble.” 

“I do not!” Silas retorted with a smile. “Bah, what do you know about male attractiveness anyway?” 

Sophie rolled her eyes before releasing her father’s bowtie and cocking her hips. “Oh please, Dad. You don’t know what I do in my spare time. Anyway, you’re looking dapper! I’m sure Mom’ll be home soon, so you’d better head outside to surprise her.” She gave him a wide smile before patting his shoulders to imbue him with confidence. “Good luck! Don’t do anything that would make her want to divorce you!” 

Silas snickered before nodding at his daughter and stepping out of his bedroom’s bathroom. “Noted!” he called before exiting the room, making his way through the castle with a spring in his step. Finding himself a little too excited, he subtly picked up his pace of walking. He greeted a few of the castle attendants—Jakob included—on the way before stepping out of the front door of Castle Krakenburg. He looked up at one of the crater’s rings and congratulated himself on his impeccable timing. Making its way steadily down the spiraling path towards the castle entrance was a small carriage, though…it was not certainly not the same one that he saw the Nohrian royal siblings off on two days prior. It was far smaller, a different color, and had a different design entirely. Silas figured they must have swapped carriages for some reason before shrugging and putting his smile back on. 

“Yo.” 

The knight looked behind him and gave a small wave to the father-daughter pair of Keaton and Velouria. He never found himself getting along all that well with the latter, but him and Keaton had become good friends over the years. After all, their wives were sisters. 

“Here to greet Camilla, I take it?” 

Keaton nodded with his hands in his pockets. “Right you are. And you must be here to…say hi to Kamui? You’re dressed pretty good.” 

“Yeah, our anniversary is coming up, so I figured I’d surprise her with dinner when she got back. It’s kind of hard to come up with a nice dinner for a princess, though. She’s used to the fancy stuff.” 

“Meanwhile, I’ve been living the good life for three years now and I’m still not used to it. It’s weird coming from a place like I did and then suddenly being a prince. People treat you completely different than they would have.” The Wolfskin sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “Says a lot about society, huh? But hey, I’m not complaining.” 

“Trust me, having your every whim tended to by nurses and maids isn’t all it’s made out to be. You should be happy you grew up the way you did,” Velouria responded. “Fittingly, Siegbert and Forrest’s moms both came from less-than-fortunate circumstances, too. What about you, Silas? Are you going to be the one to break the streak?”

“Hey, you can’t break a streak if you did the thing before the rest. I was the first one to marry one of the blue bloods, you know,” Silas said smugly. “But if you must know, I’ve always been a noble. Started training for knighthood when I was pretty young, though, and now I’m a prince. Sometimes my old soldier buddies will call me ‘your highness’ and it rubs me the wrong way…” 

Keaton smirked as the carriage came to a stop on the stone path of the entrance. “Here they are. C’mon.”

The three of them began to walk further down the path with smiles on their faces before those smiles were erased upon laying eyes on the state of their family. The clothes they had left in had been discarded and they now donned attire one would expect to see on a commoner, the beige shades and cheap material contrasting heavily with their regal faces. On top of this, various parts of their body were wrapped in bandages, the most apparent area being Xander’s entire abdomen, the wrap peeking out from under his tunic’s collar. Lilith was the most concerning of all, her signature braid being undone as she lay unconscious in Xander’s arms. 

“Hey…hey!” Keaton jogged up to the quartet with wide eyes and immediately laid hands on his wife, Velouria and Silas following close behind. “Gods, what the hell happened?” 

“We were attacked,” Camilla answered with a deep frown and despair in her voice. Her shoulders slacked and she was putting most of her weight on her right leg, making her lean slightly. “After…after the dinner, on our way back, Corrin, he…” 

“We just barely made it to a town near the border. The townspeople there dressed us and helped us recover some, but we’ll need further healing to recover from these wounds.” Leo winced as he took a step forward and the pain in his ankle flared up. “Lilith here did so much that she fell unconscious and hasn’t woken up yet. We’re not sure when she’ll—”

“Where’s Kamui?” Silas asked as his eyes darted around the area. He marched forward and peeked into the carriage only to find the sibling’s weapons and nothing more. He whipped his head around and stared at them all in fear. “Where is she?” 

Nohr’s youngest princess bit her lip in an attempt to stop her tears from coming forth. “We were surrounded. It was only because of her that we were even able to escape. She…she sacrificed herself for us all.”

“No…” Silas found his knees growing weak and a lump rising in his throat. 

“She isn’t dead,” Camilla quickly informed him. “She isn’t. She can’t be. All she did was stay behind while the rest of us fled, that’s all.”

“We don’t know that,” Xander corrected with dark eyes. “You saw the way Corrin and his soldiers fought. Each and every last one of them fully intended on killing us. It’s a miracle that we’re still even standing.”

“No, Corrin wouldn’t let that happen!” Elise shouted in retaliation, balling her fists. “He…he still loves us. He wouldn’t do that!”

“Open your eyes, Elise! Would the Corrin we knew ever attack those he knew were practically defenseless? Would he ever lay a finger on the people he grew up with? No! Our Corrin is GONE!” 

“We have to go get her,” Silas interrupted with an angered determination on his face. “Kamui wouldn’t let herself just die like that. She’s alive; I know it. We can’t let her be in Hoshido’s clutches for any longer than she has to.” 

Velouria frowned. “How? You see the condition they’re in, we can’t just—”

“They’re not the only ones who can fight, you know! To hell with legendary weapons; I’ll get my wife back myself if I have to!” 

Leo raised a hand. “Silas, I need you to relax. We…Gods, we can’t let Iago know about this. He’ll just use it as an excuse to stage a full-fledged attack on whatever city he damn well pleases…I’ll come up with something.” The man looked Silas in the eyes intensely. “Listen. My siblings and I aren’t going to be in fighting condition for at least a few days. I hold no qualms in you going off to get Kamui back yourself, but you have to be smart about this. Only take a small group. Make up a cover story for where you’re going. Let as few people know as possible and for the Gods’ sake, be covert. If word gets out that one of our Princess’—the second in command of the entire army, no less—is missing, there’ll be chaos. Understand?” 

Nodding in affirmation, the knight turned around and stormed right back on into the castle. While he was still concerned about the well being of his brothers and sisters-in-law, he had no time to waste. Already he had begun to create a list in his head about how he would go about rescuing his princess, and with whom.

If anyone dared to touch a hair on her head, Silas swore to himself that he would have theirs.

* * *

She awoke in darkness, stone cold and alone. 

The first thing that Kamui noticed was that she was hurting. Not only did her head throb the moment she raised it, but her shoulder, leg, and midsection all ached. She felt as if she had been trampled by horses and left to die on the side of the road. 

The princess looked down and found that her tattered dress had been replaced with a long beige one that was falling apart. It was made of a cheap material that scratched at her skin, but what was even worse was the cold metal collar around her neck. The collar was attached to a chain in the wall and prevented her from advancing too close to the bars of the cell. When she realized how short the chain was, she immediately wrapped her hand around it and tugged with all of her might. She fully expected to be able to rip it from the stone with her draconian strength, but to her surprise, it did not budge even a bit. 

Suddenly, her right ear twitched and she gasped. She could hear a conversation in the torch-lit hallway growing near. Kamui recognized the voices immediately and scowled.

“I do _ not _ approve of this.” 

“It doesn’t matter if you approve or not. What’s done is done.” 

“We’re supposed to be better than this, Corrin! How could you? You know this isn’t what Mikoto would have wanted, nor Sumeragi.”

“I don’t, actually. I never knew them well enough to come to any sort of conclusion as to how they’d feel about this. Regardless, it seems to me like you almost don’t want this war to end. Is that it?”

“Of course I do, but—” 

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem. This is the fastest way to put an end to it. No one else will have to die.” 

Save for the sound of footsteps and Kamui’s breathing, it was silent for several moments until the other person spoke again. 

“I want us to succeed, but not like this. Never like this.” 

The voices were clear and distinct by this point and soon made themselves known as they stepped in front of Kamui’s cell and stopped. Azura gasped and covered her mouth at the sight of the beaten woman before her, horrified. Corrin did not react at all. He simply stared down at her with a face of pity.

“Azura,” Kamui coughed with a small smile. “It’s been a while. It’s good to see you again.” 

“Gods…” Azura whispered as she lowered her hands. She bit her trembling lip before turning right back around and storming off. Kamui couldn’t blame her. She thought that she looked terrible, after all. 

“I see you’re awake,” Corrin said, blinking. “It doesn’t matter. You might as well go back to sleep. It’s not as if you being conscious will change anything.” 

Kamui adjusted herself on the cold stone floor so that she was sitting with her legs crossed. She would have leaned forward, but the collar prevented her from doing so too much. Instead, she simply stared at the man before her with a frown. 

“If you could only see yourself in the mirror now. You wouldn’t even recognize yourself. Tell me, Corrin, is the kind of leader you truly want to be? One that resorts to the same underhanded tactics your enemies once used? Pity. I expected better from you.”

“You’d be wise not to talk down to me, Princess, given the position you’re in. I won’t hesitate to move your execution date forward if you try me.” 

Kamui’s breath faltered for a moment upon hearing that word. Execution. She’d always told herself that Corrin would never want to kill her, but apparently she had been wrong. She scoffed and shook her head. 

“Execution. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Hoshido hasn’t had an execution in nearly a century, have they? The government outlawed it because they deemed it barbaric. Why the sudden change?”

“We can make an exception for traitors. One word from Ryoma was all it took. He is the king, after all.”

“That’s it, huh?” Kamui took hold of the chain and tugged on it gently. “So what’s stopping me from melting this with fire or transforming into a dragon and breaking myself out of here?” 

Corrin donned an almost smug smile. “Did you know that our dragon abilities function essentially the same as the Kitsune and Wolfskin do? I had Orochi charm this entire level of the castle with an anti-magic and transformation ward. The only exceptions are she and myself. Orochi is the woman whose arms are covered in burn scars from the Cheve attack, by the way. Just so you know.” 

Kamui made a mental note. Of course she was in the castle dungeon—she was a Nohrian princess, for the Gods’ sake. It was only natural that she would be held in the place with the highest security in the country. 

“Is that supposed to make me feel guilty? People know what they sign up for when they enlist in a war.”

“Then what about the innocents, hm?” Corrin asked as he took a step closer to the cell, his expression growing darker by the second. “Notre Sagesse, those who resided in the Cheve rebellion camp, the people of the countless villages Nohr has razed over the years. What have you to say for them?” 

“I don’t have to answer for actions that were not my own. And what about you, Mr. _ Assassin Prince _? What about the people whose lives you take without a second thought?”

“Idiot,” Corrin spat. “What I do is carry out justice in the stead of a system that never will. The people I kill are scum.”

“Scum who probably had families and friends that had nothing to do with their crimes and loved them outside of that.” Kamui rubbed at her shoulder and winced in pain. It seemed like she had only been given the bare minimum in terms of healing. “Children left fatherless, wives left as widows, all because their precious prince decided that their loved ones’ lives shouldn’t be allowed to go on. Who are you to decide what is and what isn’t right?” 

Corrin bared his teeth and tightly gripped one of the cell bars, glaring at the woman in front of him. “What do you know of what’s right?! You abandoned your family to support a corrupt king that tried to have you killed that same damn day! You claim that you don’t care about morality and are only concerned about your family, but what about me? What about Ryoma? What about Sakura, Takumi, Hinoka, and Azura? What about us?” 

Kamui let out a shaky breath. “I’ve told you before, they’re not my family—”

“THAT’S A LIE AND YOU KNOW IT!” Corrin shouted as he slammed his fist into the bars and made Kamui jump, her heart racing in her chest. “All they ever wanted was their brother and sister back—the twins that were STOLEN from them—but no, you had to go and screw everything up! This war would have been over years ago if it weren’t for you, but you were too much of a coward to raise your blade on people that lied to you for your entire life! On the man that would have thrown you to the dogs without so much as a second thought if it meant saving his own hide! You can try and justify what you did all you want, Kamui, but I can see it in your eyes. You regret what you did. If you could return to that day, you would walk away by my side and fight against Nohr with me. I know it. If not…then your heart has been corrupted past the point of no return.” 

Every word he spoke made Kamui’s blood boil. He didn’t know the truth. He didn’t know how much Garon truly did love them, or how Iago was the mastermind behind this all, or of the mission that Laslow and his friends had been sent from another world to carry out. He didn’t know anything. He was an ignorant child that couldn’t see the truth and that would be his downfall. Though, she could not help but ponder the truth of his words. Would she have chosen Hoshido if she could go back? Was she willing to abandon those she loved in the name of doing what was “right”? She couldn’t find it in herself to answer “never”, but when she thought about Silas, and Kana, and Sophie, and Peri and Laslow and Mozu and all of the companions she had made over the years, she told herself that she would absolutely not give up the life she had built just to appease another’s idea of what good was.

“I miss you, you know?” the princess said as she closed her eyes. Corrin drew in a sharp breath. “We’d argue all the time, sure, but…you were my precious little brother. I loved you. I love you.”

“Kamui.”

“Do you remember the day you told me you were attracted to men? You came to me in tears only for me to simply tell you what it was. You were terrified. And then we embraced. Tell me you remember that.” 

“Stop it.”

“Or the day when Silas was banned from the fortress. You were frightened by how loud I could yell at the guards, but truth be told, I was yelling out of fear myself. I didn’t want our best friend to be killed. You recall that when he and the guard left, I almost burst into tears and hugged you, don’t you?”

“That’s enough, Kamui.” 

“Remember that day when Elise scraped her knee running up to you and we—”

“ENOUGH!” Corrin’s hands were suddenly covered in scales and expanded in size as he put his hands between the bars as if he were apart to pry them apart, but he stopped himself before he could. The Hoshidan prince took a deep breath before reverting his hands back to normal and putting them at his side. “...You took one of my best friends from me, you know that? I know it was you. Azama didn’t tell me at first because he knew how I’d react, but he did eventually…you don’t even know her name. I could describe to you exactly what she looked like and you wouldn’t even remember. To you, she was just another enemy that you cut down without a second thought. Setsuna…” 

Kamui felt her heart sinking and she opened her eyes to look at her brother, only to find tears welling in his. She was suddenly overcome with guilt and felt her body begin to tremble. 

“Corrin…I truly am sorry. If I had known, I wouldn’t have…”

“Wouldn’t have what? Wouldn’t have killed her? I’m not special, Kamui. Everyone you’ve killed was just a soldier fighting for what they knew was right. They all had people who loved them and were waiting for them to come home…you’re a monster, you know that?” Corrin shook his head and turned around, beginning to walk away with his face shrouded in darkness. “Oboro is right. You’re _ all _ monsters.” 

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

When Kamui’s ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching in the middle of the night, she figured that it was just a guard who had been late in collecting her dinner tray. As such, she remained laying on the cold stone slab that jutted out of the wall and was supposed to act as a bed. It was when she did not hear the sound of the tray scraping across the floor that she became curious as she cautiously turned her head and opened her eyes, only to draw in a sharp breath at who she saw standing before her.

She sat up and instantly pressed her back into the wall, her heart starting to pound in her chest. On the other side of the steel bars stood Takumi and Hinoka. Hinoka held a naginata in hand while the limb of the Fujin Yumi hung from Takumi’s fingers. Kamui’s instincts screamed for her to rip the chain around her neck from the wall and lunge at the two, tearing them apart before they could do her any harm. She knew that it would be a futile effort, though, so she resigned herself to keeping her eyes trained on their weapons. 

“You’re here to kill me, aren’t you?” she said in a breath, her fingers tightly gripping the edge of her bed. “I don’t think Corrin or Ryoma would approve.”

Neither of the siblings responded or even changed the look on their faces. Instead, Hinoka simply sighed and closed her eyes.

“I’ve waited five long years to get a chance to talk to you directly, and now that I have the chance, I don’t even know where to begin,” she muttered. The princess bit down on her lip before raising her head to look Kamui in the eyes. “Why?” 

Kamui blinked, her guard lowering a little. “I…don’t understand.” 

“Why?” Hinoka repeated angrily. “Why would you abandon your family like you did?” 

Nohr’s princess sighed and slid slightly down the wall before shaking her head. “This again. I’ve explained plenty of times to Corrin that—”

“I’m. Not. Corrin.” 

Hinoka reached behind her back and produced a large silver key that she swiftly pushed into the cage lock and turned with a sigh. Leaving it in, she gently pushed the cell door open while Takumi remained standing where he was. She loosely held her naginata and approached her younger sister with a frown. Hinoka propped the weapon up against the wall before sitting down on the stone floor and looking directly at Kamui. She could sense her still lingering fear, but she didn’t care. 

“I spent the majority of my life training harder than anyone else ever has just so I could get you back. From ages six to twenty-three, all I did was train. I didn’t have time for making friends, developing hobbies, or even bonding with our other siblings that much because I was always so busy. Even more so when I became captain of the pegasus knights. So when you and Corrin showed up that day…you can imagine how ecstatic I was. But, I was also disappointed.” The princess put her feet up and hugged her knees, leaning forward. “Over a decade and a half of preparing to bring you home, and it wasn’t even me who did so. It felt like…like I had wasted my life. Rescuing you was all I had ever cared about. But…I could look past that, because in the end, my precious baby brother and sister were back, and that was all that mattered. And then you let Corrin walk away without you.” Hinoka squeezed her knees tighter as her eyes drooped. “The two people in the world who I had dedicated my entire life to were separated. I had to fight against one of them in a pointless war. Do you know how that made me feel, Kamui? That my precious baby sister didn’t want to be with me? With any of us? I’ve _ never _ understood why things had to be this way, so be honest with me. I don’t want to hear the same things you’ve told Corrin. How could you leave us?” 

Kamui found her lip quivering as she stared into Hinoka’s eyes. Even in the darkness, she could see that they were only a few shades lighter than her own. In addition to that, the shape was practically identical. It seemed they had both inherited that from Mikoto.

She found herself speaking without thinking. “I…I was scared,” she let out. “I didn’t want to abandon the people I had spent my entire life around and who I loved so much. Xander…his touch was just so comforting, and when I saw Corrin walk away without even as hesitating, it made me angry. He was just going to leave Xander and Camilla and Elise and Leo and Jakob and Felicia and everyone else behind without even a second thought. So, I was scared of leaving the only family I’d ever known, and I was angry at Corrin for seemingly not even caring. That’s why I lashed out at him like I did. I’ve never been the best at controlling my temper.”

“I know. You were the same when you were a baby.” The ghost of a smile showed up on Hinoka’s face before fading away. “I guess I understand that. I don’t know what I’d do if I were in your situation. I…I don’t hate you, Kamui, but you represent what I failed to do. I couldn’t make our family whole again and I couldn’t keep it together either. We lost Mother…then we lost you…” Tears welled in Hinoka’s eyes, but she blinked them away promptly. “All I’ve ever wanted was our family to be together again. Me, you, Corrin, Ryoma, Takumi, Mother and Father. Sakura never even got to know you. But you made that impossible. You orchestrated attacks that lead to the pointless deaths of hundreds. If it hadn’t been for you, Shiro would have gotten to grow up with his mother. I can’t forgive that.” 

Kamui’s expression was consumed by guilt as Hinoka bit down on her lip hard and stood, lazily taking hold of her naginata and standing with her back facing her little sister. “I…I’m sorry that I can’t make these last few days pleasant for you. We don’t like to give special treatment to warmongers, regardless of blood relation. Good night.” 

Biting her tongue and tightly clenching her fist, Hinoka kept her head down as she speedwalked out of the cell and immediately turned down the hall, not bothering to stick around for whatever it was that Takumi had to say. The aforementioned brother watched her take off down the corridor before turning his attention back to their prisoner and taking a few steps into the cell, this time sitting down on the floor nowhere near Kamui. 

“Takumi…I—”

“I don’t care,” Takumi interrupted with an apathetic expression and a shake of his head. “Whatever you have to say, it means nothing to me. I only came here with Hinoka to say my peace, and then I’m gone. I just didn’t want you to die without knowing why it is that I hate you so much, so just shut up and listen.” The prince let out a heavy breath before continuing. “Imagine you’re me. You’ve been taught for your entire life that a particular country is bad and have good reason to believe though. They killed your father for no good reason using underhanded tactics, after all. On top of that, you’ve always been told about the older brother and sister you never knew that were taken by that very same country. Always told about how perfect they were and about how you should be more like them. Then one day, they miraculously show up again and everyone trusts them without so much as a second thought. They’ve been raised to hate you and your people, support a king who allows his country to remain in ruin, and have no reason to suddenly change sides. But just for a moment, you think ‘maybe this will work out’. ‘Maybe I’m being too harsh on them’. And then your mother is killed because of them.” 

Kamui averted her eyes, only to be brought right back by a stern “look at me”. Takumi continued without missing a beat. 

“To make matters even worse, one of them goes right back to the people that brainwashed her into believing they actually cared for her, ripping the family apart even further…even when you weren’t around, you don’t know how much anguish you caused us. Mother would spend the day locked in her room each year when the anniversary of your abduction came around. It was the same deal on your birthday. We weren’t allowed to go in your room, we had to be accompanied by someone at all times whenever we left the castle, and our rooms were constantly guarded by samurai while we slept. I never knew you, and yet, you affected my life so much. And now, because of you, someone I _ have _ known since I was a child is gone…tell me, who am I talking about?”

Kamui’s head was hung low and her shoulders slack, her throat dry and her heart pounding. “Ryoma’s…Ryoma’s wife.”

“No,” Takumi responded sternly. “What was her name? You know it, don’t you?”

Kamui made herself small. “I…I don’t. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t know her name. Your brother’s wife and the woman who was supposed to be the queen of Hoshido, and you don’t know her name. She was the leader of the rebellion that _ you _ led an attack against. She was decapitated and made an example of by one of _ your _men. And you’re telling me that in the past five years, you never even bothered to learn her name…it was Scarlet.”

Takumi briefly ground his teeth and rose to his feet, glaring down at his elder sister. “You’re pathetic, you know that? You know that what you’re doing is wrong and yet you don’t even seem to regret any of it. You didn’t even surrender when you knew that there was no way you could beat us, putting the lives of all your brothers and sisters at risk. You’re a fool—you and all your stupid Nohrian siblings.” 

“Don’t drag them into this!” Kamui spat, her blood beginning to boil. “If you have problems with me then that’s one thing, but they have nothing to do with it!” 

“Nothing to do with it? They’re the whole reason you made the mistake of supporting Nohr in the first place, and look where that brought you! Right to death’s door!” Takumi squeezed his regalia’s limb in his hand and turned his back to her. “Don’t worry though. I know Nohr. They won’t give up even when you’re dead. They’ll keep fighting and fighting until there’s no one left, so you’ll be seeing them in the afterlife soon after you’re gone.”

“No!”

“Xander, Elise, Camilla, and Leo! All of them, dead! I’ll even kill that damn traitor Lilith if I have to!” 

Suddenly, the princess released an almost deafening scream and lunged from her bed, her hands outstretched towards the young prince. Her movement was cut abruptly short by the chain attached to the collar she wore quickly growing taut and violently stopping her. She fell to the ground, but recovered immediately and began to pull at it with every ounce of strength in her being. Her teeth were clenched and veins bulged in both her arms as well as on her forehead, her vibrant red eyes burning with anger. She wanted to rip the chain from the wall and strangle the boy before her with it. She wanted to burst right through the bars that held her and escape into the night, making her way back to Nohr before the sun rose. 

But she couldn’t. 

As the second ticked by, Kamui’s tugging grew less and less intense until eventually she had completely given up, collapsing to the floor on her hands and knees while her body shook. She felt powerless. Not only could she not use magic, but even her draconian strength—which was a part of her very being—had been taken from her. Hopeless, she began to weep and weakly beat her fists into the ground. 

Takumi looked down on her with a pitiful expression. “You disgust me. The next time we see each other will be the last, with your head in a noose. Things could have been different, you know. But you dug your own grave, Kamui. Now lay in it.” 

Takumi slammed the cell gate behind him and locked it before leaving Kamui’s field of vision. A part of her wanted to call out to him, but she did not know what for. There would be no point. Instead, she simply got right back on her stone bed and closed her eyes, attempting to drift off to sleep through her tears.

* * *

Truthfully, Kamui just wanted to sleep until her execution date arrived. 

She was sick of being accosted by individuals she had no desire to listen to, but most of all she was sick of being confined to that godsforsaken cell. The gray color of the room combined with the distance from her loved ones made her feel incredibly melancholic. Most of all, however, she was _ bored _. All day long she would just sit in her cell waiting for her next bland meal to arrive, then she would eat before sitting some more. At one point she had tried exercising, but she found that difficult to do with the collar and chain around her neck. 

The Nohrian princess had been spending her time mostly thinking of home. Of Camilla’s tender hugs, Leo’s smug yet charming smirks, Elise’s jubilant laughter, Xander’s comforting pats on the head, Silas’ lighthearted teasing, Peri’s delectable confections, and so much more. She was relieved that she had left Kana and Sophie back home since their lives would have been at risk had they come along for the Izumo trip. 

Suddenly clenching her jaw harder, Kamui bit clean through her thumbnail and glared at the wall. Days later, she still found it hard to parse that Corrin would _actually_ try to kill her and the rest of his siblings. The Corrin she knew would never even so much as lay a finger on any of them, and yet the man she had fought seemed to possess every intent to put an end to her life. Part of her was angry that he had the audacity to do such a thing, but the other part was concerned. Could it be possible that her precious twin brother was forever lost to her? While it may have been the case that they did not always get along swimmingly, she did truly love him. How could she not? He had been by her side for her entire life up until he decided to abandon Nohr.

Kamui groaned and rubbed at her aching neck before her ear started to twitch. Footsteps were approaching. She counted…three sets. Sighing, she turned to face the cell gates and prepared to meet some of her Hoshidan siblings, but instead she was met with three unfamiliar faces. 

The first to appear was a slim yet muscular young man with short, dark gray hair and intense brown eyes. He had a small white stick coming out of his mouth, and from the way he rolled it around, Kamui presumed it was the end of a lollipop. He wore garbs befitting a traditional Hoshidan ninja. 

Next to him was a curvaceous young woman who wore a semi-translucent black bodysuit not dissimilar from the one Kamui wore herself. In addition to this, she donned dark garments that covered her body as well as a multitude of jewelry, including an oriental looking hair accessory. Despite her clothing, her expression was rather glum and her posture slouched slightly. From her tanned skin, red eyes, and white hair, Kamui instantly gathered that she was Rinkah’s daughter. 

Kamui drew in a sharp breath upon seeing the final nervous looking girl. She was fairly short and wore a nice looking silk dress, but what stood out most to Kamui was her aqua-blue hair and golden eyes. There was no doubt that this was Azura’s child. Kamui’s niece. 

“I’m really not sure we should be doing this, you guys!” the smallest girl said before her eyes met Kamui’s. She gasped and covered her mouth, beginning to stomp her feet in a panic. “Oh no, she’s looking right at us!” 

The gloomy one rolled her eyes and gestured to the only boy present. “Relax, Midori. Asugi, hurry up and do your thing.” 

“Alright, alright. Cool it, Sunshine. I’m on it.” The boy named Asugi produced two tiny metal rods, one ending sharply while the other ended in a hook. Kneeling down slightly so that he could see into the lock on Kamui’s cell, he closed one eye and gently inserted the straight rod before following with the hooked one and getting to work. 

Kamui thinned her eyes at the three; what in the world were they doing? “What…what are you doing? Who are you? Why are you here?” 

Rinkah’s daughter looked Kamui in her eyes and immediately her deadpan expression broke, her eyes widening. This was the first good look she got of the princess and she was visibly pleased with what she saw. Her cheeks flushed red and a sinister smile crept up her face. 

“You’re very pretty. Considering you’re covered in dirt and wearing _ that _, I’d just love to see what you look like all dressed up. Hopefully you don’t die before then.” 

“What? Answer my question.” 

“We’re giving you a little break, what’s it look like?” Asugi smirked as the lock came undone and he casually pushed open the cell door, him and Rinkha’s daughter stepping in without hesitation. He turned his head around and beckoned for the younger looking girl to join them. “C’mon, Doc. She won’t bite. “ 

The small girl hesitantly stepped into the cell, holding her arms close to her body and keeping her eyes locked on Kamui the entire time. “You’d better not try anything, okay? We’re all armed!” 

“Relax, Midori. Something tells me she’s not the type to hurt a bunch of kids.”

“Rhajat, you can’t be sure of that! She’s the bad guy, you know!” 

The girl named Rhajat rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Kamui, making the woman lean further back against the wall. “You don’t actually believe everything your dad tells you, right? Things are rarely simple enough to put people neatly into ‘good guy’ and ‘bad guy’ categories. We’re the villains of her story, after all.” 

“I won’t ask again,” Kamui put firmly as she bared her sharp teeth. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

That sent a shudder down Rhajat’s spine. The girl bit her bottom lip and smiled even wider.

“My my, those teeth. So alluring…you must get them from your dragon blood. You really are Corrin’s twin.” Rhajat slowly raised her hands and framed Kamui’s face, prompting the woman to growl at her. She didn’t want to attack, but this girl was trying her patience. Rhajat was only inches away from cupping Kamui’s cheeks before Asugi cleared his throat and crossed his arms.

“Rhajat, do you think you could turn it down a notch? It’d be bad if she clawed your throat out right here and now.” Asugi rubbed his neck before sighing and locking eyes with Kamui. “Hey, we’re going to take you somewhere, alright? We’re not supposed to be doing this, so try not to be loud when we’re walking. Rhajat, her collar.” 

“With pleasure.” Rhajat smirked before folding all but her index and pinkie fingers in, holding her hand up as the digits became encased a dark magical aura. She touched the tips to the metal around Kamui’s neck and instantly it came unlatched, falling to the floor with a metallic clang. 

Kamui drew in a sharp breath and touched her fingers to her sore neck in surprise. “Th-thank you, but…how are you using magic? Isn’t this place—”

“Oh please, my magical prowess is far more advanced than Orochi’s. That’s what happens when you spend eighteen years practically alone in a pocket dimension. It was easy to break through the anti-magic ward and allow myself to do whatever I want. Are you impressed?” Rhajat asked, batting her eyes. Ignoring the question, Kamui rose to her feet and stretched her arms before looking at the other two. 

“Might I ask why you’re all doing this? Your parents hate me, you know. Rhajat, was it? It was your mother that discovered my brother and I in Nohr. I would imagine that she resents me for leaving like I did.”

“M-my dad, too!” Midori added enthusiastically, though the nervous expression remained. Kamui raised an eyebrow and looked down at the girl. 

“Your dad? Azura…married Kaze?” 

Asugi snapped his fingers to gain Kamui’s attention before turning around and beginning to walk. “Walk and talk, gals. We’re screwed if a guard on patrol catches you out of your cell, so let’s make this fast.” 

While she was not thrilled about having to take orders from someone who was very clearly several years younger than her, Kamui nevertheless obliged and followed him out of the cell and down the hall along with Rhajat and Midori. She was put off by the fact that she found it difficult to get a good read on any of the three. Midori was obviously going along with this plan trepidatiously, but still there was a sort of spunk to the energy she exuded. Rhajat on the other hand seemed to be very interested in Kamui herself, though her melancholic vibe combined with her sly smile sent mixed signals. Asugi very much seemed like a “cool” type of person, but his apparent lack of interest in Kamui made it hard for her to discern his intentions. 

“To answer your question,” Rhajat began, tapping Kamui on the shoulder from behind. “Just because our _ parents _ hate you doesn’t mean that we do. It’s not like I care much for the beliefs my mother and father hold, anyway. What reason would we have to hate you? We don’t know you.” 

Kamui bit her lip as Asugi ceased his walking and began to feel around the brick wall, searching for something. “I…I’m your enemy.”

“You’re Hoshido’s enemy, and we aren’t Hoshido. We’re us.” Asugi smirked as his hand brushed against a brick that protruded ever so slightly from the wall. When he pushed it in, the ground rumbled slightly and that section of brick was drawn back before sliding into the rest of the wall, revealing a long and dark hallway. It didn’t phase Kamui at all—Castle Krakenburg had several hidden passages of its own. 

It only took about a minute for the quartet to make their way fully through the tunnel before emerging into a moderately sized room filled with individuals that Kamui recognized immediately. She reflexively reached for a blade that was not there before freezing. She then whipped her head around with the intent to flee, but Rhajat blocked her path, her smile still there. The princess turned around once again as her breathing began to increase. 

The room would have been rather cozy if it weren’t for the enemies surrounding Kamui. Numerous weapons as well as torches that cast the room in an orange glow lined the walls. An expensive looking carpet covered the floor and in the center was a large rectangular table with a map of the castle laid out atop it. Kamui assumed that this was a room that would have been used in the case of an invasion of the castle. 

Leaning against the table with his arms crossed was Shiro, who stared at Kamui with a hardened expression. On either side of him were Kiragi and Matoi, both of whom stood like perfectly trained soldiers with their eyes locked on the Nohrian princess. Standing in the back of the room were two far less intimidating girls, a Kitsune and a tired looking girl with star shaped pupils barely visible through her half closed eyes and hair the same color as a particular maid that Kamui was all too familiar with. Lastly and most surprisingly was the girl with chocolate brown hair and scarlet red eyes beneath pink glasses—Corrin’s own daughter, Kotomi. 

“Special delivery. One Nohrian princess/commander,” Asugi said as he nonchalantly walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. “Where’s my payment?” 

“Thank you, Asugi. Here you are.” Kotomi reached under the table and produced a small sack that she slid over to the ninja, who eagerly took hold of it and dumped its contents out on the table surface. They were various types of wrapped candies that made Asugi grin at the sight of them. Kamui assumed he had a sweet tooth like Elise, but was more concerned with just what she was doing here.

“What do you want with me? S-surely you’re not going to try and kill me right here and now. That wouldn’t—”

Shiro raised his hand and interrupted her with a sigh. “Relax. We’re just here to talk.” 

As Shiro pushed himself off of the table and Rhajat ushered Kamui further into the room, the pair of girls in the back of the room stepped forward. The kitsune’s eyes were filled with curiosity while the girl with the peculiar pupils seemed more annoyed than anything. 

“Back on the road to Nohr, you fought with a couple of us. You guys did a number on us, you know.” Shiro lightly chuckled as he ran his finger across the white bandage on the bridge of his nose. 

“I got chopped in the tummy!” the kitsune added with a surprising giggle. “That’s never happened to me before! It hurt a bunch, but I’m all better now!”

Kamui glared at them all. “You all severely injured the people I love. You,” she pointed a finger at the kitsune, who blinked unassumingly, “you sunk your teeth into my little sister like she was food. And Shiro, the way you stabbed Lilith like it was nothing…”

Shiro grimaced and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah, maybe that was overkill. Honestly, I had a hunch that she’d be more resistant to that kind of stuff since she’s a dragon and all, but I guess I was wrong. Hey, it all worked out in the end anyway though, didn’t it?” He put on a hopeful smile that slowly began to fade as the seconds passed by. “She…she _ is _ alive, right?” 

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve been locked alone in a cell for the past few days, so I haven’t exactly had time to check in on her.” 

“That’s not really our fault, is it?” the star girl asked with a yawn. “I mean, from what I’ve been told, you’re the one who opted to sacrifice yourself so that your brothers and sisters could get away. A noble act, but a foolish one nonetheless.” 

“Mitama.” Kotomi gave the girl a stern look and she shrugged in response. With a sigh, Kamui’s niece looked her in the eyes before speaking. “I sincerely apologize for that, Princess. Selkie and I didn’t want to go through with the plan, but it didn’t seem like my father was going to take no for an answer. As for why you’re here—”

“You were SUPER cool back when we fought!” The kitsune Selkie exclaimed gleefully. “The way you came up with that plan on the spot, the way it went off without a hitch, and wow, your magic was SO powerful! I’d never seen anyone use magic on such a massive scale before! But most importantly, we were impressed by the way you gave yourself up so that your siblings could escape. Right, Matoi?” 

Subaki and Sakura’s daughter reluctantly nodded her head, keeping her hands straight at her side. “While I may have been unconscious and as such unable to witness your siblings escaping, the fact that you managed to nearly prevail against numbers far greater than yours garners you some of my respect. I am a knight of Hoshido, so while I do not entirely approve of my companion’s goals, I do understand the reasoning behind it and as such will not tell anyone about it.” 

“As for what goal that might be…” Kotomi bit her lip and shuffled in place, holding her hands behind her back. “Ah…well, we’re planning on freeing you from capture on the morning of your execution date.”

The Hoshidans stared at Kamui anticipating some sort of reaction, so they were all put off when her expression did not change. Instead, she only blinked and kept her attention on Kotomi. 

“Why? You do know that this is treason, yes? If you’re found out, I don’t think you’ll all be punished severely regardless of who your parents are. And if you truly do wish to free me, why not do it now? Why risk it by waiting until the morning of my execution?”

Shiro could tell that Kamui was suspicious. “It’s treason, sure, but…look, I know I participated in it and all, but the way you were defeated…it isn’t right. It’s got to violate some sort of rule of war. My grandpa was killed in a similar way by your country, so to do what is essentially the same thing to you doesn’t sit well with me. That’s why I got all of my friends in on it. It’d be hard to pull off a break-out by myself.” 

“Then where’s my brother’s other daughter? He has two. Only one is present. I presume you didn’t tell her about this plan. Why?” 

“Um,” Kotomi tentatively raised a finger to draw in Kamui’s attention, her eyes darting back and forth between her aunt and the floor. “Kara is…she’s too much of a daddy’s girl. If we got her in on this, she would have gone straight to my dad. We had to leave her out.” 

“You don’t seem to trust us. That’s understandable, I suppose. You’d really ought to give us the benefit of the doubt, though. We’re trying to break you out of here,” Mitama said with an unimpressed look. She yawned shortly after, not bothering to cover her mouth. 

“Of course I don’t trust you—you’re a bunch of strangers, and most of you have harmed my siblings only because you were told to. Who’s to say this isn’t a set up so that I don’t try and escape on my own?”

Shiro let out an annoyed groan and thinned his eyes at the princess. “So, what’s your plan then? You don’t seem like the type to just accept your fate. You’re obviously going to try and escape if you don’t accept our help, so what? Do you expect to be able to overpower the guards? Are you going to fight your way out? The shackles you’ll be in are enchanted with the same ward this whole dungeon is, so you can’t use magic or your dragon abilities. You don’t even have a weapon.” 

Kamui bit her lip and balled her fists, aiming her eyes at the carpet. “I’d figure it out. I’m more capable than you think.” 

“I’m sure you are, but we’re offering you help here. If you try and do this on your own then people will get hurt. You don’t want that, do you?” the young man ran his fingers through his hair and sighed before approaching Kamui further. “Look, I get that you’re wary. I’d be the same way in your situation. Just…trust us, alright? We’re not the enemy here. We’re just a bunch of people who want to do the right thing.” He extended his hand and offered a small smile. “So come on, Auntie. Let us help you.”

Immediately, Kamui recoiled back and lightly bumped into Rhajat, who gave a pleasure filled giggle in response. The princess grimaced. The same man who had impaled her precious Lilith with a naginata and the same man whose mother’s murder she had failed to prevent had the audacity to refer to her as his aunt. She did not even consider Ryoma her _ brother _. Her head spun at the notion of a familial connection with this person, but she bit down on her tongue and forced her eyes to meet his. 

“Fine,” she replied with her hands firmly at her side. “Just tell me what the exact plan is and I’ll comply.” 

Kotomi put a hand over her heart with a sigh of relief. “Thank you. Truthfully, we were worried that you would say no. It puts my mind at ease knowing that we’ll be able to pull the plan off. Um.” The young girl pulled out a chair and sat down before pulling out another one. “You should sit down. This may take a while.”

* * *

“Azura, we’ve been over this.” 

As Corrin marched through the Shirasagi halls with a thick stack of documents in hand, he appeared to be much less vibrant than he usually was. His normally smooth hair was somewhat disheveled, his shoulders slacked, dark bags hung under his eyes and an even darker shadow seemed to loom over him. His empty hand was balled in a frustrated fist and every step he took was heavy, his walking speed accelerated in order to escape his pursuer. 

“Yes, but you haven’t _ listened _ to me. You just give me the same excuses over and over again! Why must you brush me off every time? Can’t we just discuss this together?” 

“There’s nothing to discuss. I’m high commander and I have the approval of the king; the decision is final. Your feelings about it don’t matter.” 

Azura pursed her lips as she continued to speedwalk behind her close friend. “Corrin, I’ve practically been your advisor since the day I met you. How could you make such an important decision without so much as telling me about it?” 

“Because I knew how you’d react and I didn’t want to hear it. Evidently you care more about supporting my sister than you do about supporting our country, so there would be no point in consulting you.” 

“What? What in the world makes you say that? All I’ve done is help you!” 

“Right, which is why you sent your own son to enemy territory and put his life at risk just to ‘level the playing field’. That’s how you put it, right? Gods, it’s like you don’t even care about ending the war!” 

Azura scowled before grabbing onto Corrin’s arm and pulling him back, turning him around and jabbing her finger into his chest. “Well, excuse me for not wanting someone important to me to know the truth!”

“_ Important to you _? You knew each other for barely two days!” Corrin shouted back angrily. “What is it really? Don’t tell me you’re still attached to the country you spent the first few years of your life in. I lived in Nohr far longer than you did and even I’ve forsaken that wretched place.” 

“No! I just don’t want you two to kill each other! You know the legend of the Twin Yato; you two are supposed to work together and bring salvation to—”

“I don’t give a damn about the stupid prophecy!” Corrin dropped the papers he was holding and put his hands on Azura’s arms to squeeze them, leaning in and glaring into her eyes. “All that matters is bringing the people who murdered my mother to justice! All that matters is putting an end to this war so that more people don’t have to die! Why can’t you see that?!” 

Azura tried to keep her head steady as Corrin shook her while he shouted. When he stopped, she simply stared into his eyes with contempt and her lips pressed together. She inhaled deeply through her nose before speaking firmly. 

“Let go of me, Corrin.”

But he did not. Instead, his eyes seemed to grow darker by the second as he tightened his grip on Azura’s arms and grit his teeth. Azura tried to maintain a hardened expression but faltered, wincing in pain and squeezing her fists to stop herself from crying out. Corrin would have continued had it not been for the tiny voice that called out behind him.

“Papa?”

Corrin drew in a sharp breath and immediately released Azura before turning around and laying eyes on his youngest daughter, looking up at him with confused eyes. “Kara,” he began, forcing a smile. “What are you doing up so late? You were supposed to be in bed an hour ago.” 

“I couldn’t sleep, so Mama told me to go walk around and tire myself out.” Kara eyed the papers on the floor with a frown. “What’s going on? You seem angry.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. It’s a special tomorrow, so I wanted to have you spend the night in the castle with your mother and sister.” The prince bit down on his tongue while he eyed Azura rubbing her reddened arms. “I’m not angry. I just…Papa’s under a lot of stress right now, so he dropped a bunch of important papers. Your Auntie Azura is helping collect them. Isn’t that right?” 

Azura remained silent, standing still for a few moments before nodding. Kara seemed to think nothing of it as the smile returned to her face.

“Okay! When you’re done, can you come sing me to sleep like you used to? I think that would help!” 

“Of course, sweetheart.” Corrin ruffled his daughter’s hair and elicited a giggle from her. “I’ll be up in a moment, so run along now. I promise.” 

Kara nodded excitedly before turning right back around and running towards the stairs with her arms stretched out, a beaming grin on her face the entire time. Corrin’s smile slowly faded. He let out a sigh and knelt down to begin collecting the documents he had dropped, but unfortunately for him, Azura was not finished. 

“Corrin, I want you to think about who we’re up against here. Tell me, what will killing Kamui truly achieve?”

“Gods, you’re still on about this? I told you already, with their leader gone, the Nohrian army will be in shambles and the war will be ours. It isn’t complicated.” 

“No.” Azura shook her head before stepping forward and kneeling down behind Corrin, placing her hand on his back. “Think this through. Kamui isn’t even the highest ranking member of Nohr’s army—Hans is—And do you truly believe that a man like Iago would falter over the death of someone he doesn’t care about? Corrin, be honest with me. Please. You don’t think that Kamui’s death will shorten the war at all, do you?” The princess frowned with sad eyes as she slowly withdrew her hand from Corrin’s body. “…You only seek retribution.”

Corrin paused his paper collecting and let his hand rest on the carpet for a few moments, his breathing faint. Finally, he closed his eyes and responded. 

“Is that so wrong?” 

“Corrin…” Azura rose to her feet with wide eyes and held her hands close to her chest as she took a step back. “No…” 

“You didn’t grow up with her nor were you present at the dinner in Izumo; you don’t know her like I do. You don’t know what she’s like. The other day, she didn’t show a shred of remorse for all the things she’s done. Notre Sagesse, Cheve, Scarlet, she’s behind it all.” Corrin snatched up the final sheet of paper and stood straight, keeping his back facing Azura as she clenched his jaw. “She blindly defends the same people who caused the death of our parents because they’re _ family. _She doesn’t care about doing what’s right at all, she said it herself! Her hands are stained in blood, Azura, and there’s no way to cleanse them. There’s no convincing her. The only thing to do is to eliminate her completely.”

Azura shook her head in disbelief. “You can’t possibly believe that. The Corrin I know would never give up on his sister of all people. You _ love _her—don’t you remember that?” 

“That was before she turned her back on her people.” Corrin’s nails dug into his palm and threatened to draw blood, his voice catching in his throat. “That was before she took Setsuna from us. To allow her to keep on living…it would be spitting on the legacy of all the people we’ve lost.” 

“They wouldn’t want this. I know Mikoto, and her heart would break if she ever were to see her children fighting like this. Scarlet would never execute any of her prisoners. She hated the very idea of it. And Setsuna—” 

“Don’t start talking like you knew her better than I did!” Corrin spat. “I’m done with this. You’d best watch what you say tomorrow morning lest you end up in the gallows right after my sister for treason. You may have grown up here, but you’re still Nohrian. Don’t forget it.” 

Before Azura could even respond, Corrin continued to make his way down the hall and did not look back. The songstress appeared to be devastated, her shoulders slacking and a deep frown on her face. She raised her hand to the pendant around her neck and squeezed it as she watched Corrin disappear further down the hall. This wasn’t like him at all. She was ignorant as to what was said at the Izumo dinner, but surely it couldn’t have affected him this much. She briefly cursed herself for blowing off the dinner in order to attend to her own personal matters. If she had been there, then maybe he wouldn’t be acting this way now. She certainly would not have allowed him to stage an ambush in the first place, someone she had probed her own siblings about over the last few days only to fail in receiving a satisfactory answer as to why they went along with it. Frustrated, Azura let out a deep sigh before turning around and beginning the walk back to her room. 

“I’m not giving up on you, Corrin. I won’t let you lose your way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favorite chapter so far, mainly because it's sort of the start of an arc for Corrin that I'm very proud of and the combat scene was so fun to write ^~^. Things, of course, aren't looking so hot for either of the twins, so let's see how events play out next chapter, shall we? See ya then~!


	21. The Black Pillar

While the sun hung high above the Shirasagi town square, hundreds of Hoshidan citizens gathered around the gallows that had been erected right before the reconstructed fountain, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their royal family. Almost the entire population of the capital was in attendance, from women to children as well as the elderly. The colossal crowd was rather dense, making it easy for a particular group of outsiders to blend in with the assistance of burlap cloaks. 

“Ten minutes to noon. Do you think they’re going to make it?” asked a delicate looking woman in a hushed tone. Her most notable features were her long blonde hair and her rather prominent bust, which was noticeable even beneath her dark cloak. 

Nyx stood by her side and nodded with her eyes closed. “They have to. Remember, Charlotte, we’re only to act if things don’t go as planned. The instant we see Kamui’s face, we strike.” 

“Let’s try an’ keep the damage to a minimum, yeah? We don’t want to go hurtin’ nobody,” Mozu added. She had matured greatly over the years, her body as well as her face both appearing far more developed than they had been when she first joined the Nohrian army. Her voice had also gotten more womanly and less childish. “If we gotta make a move, just watch where you go swingin’ that ax, yeah?” 

“Of course! I may be almost as reckless as Peri on the battlefield, but I know how to tone it down when I need to.” Charlotte placed her hand on her thigh where a magically shrunken ax had been strapped courtesy of Nyx. All she had to do to call it to full size was will it so, though she hoped that things wouldn’t come to that. If all went well, then the trio of women would be leaving Hoshido without having to lift a finger. 

Of course, for that to happen, the other half of their team would have to do their job properly. 

Beruka had been raised as an assassin, so covert operations came naturally to her. She had not seen much action in the last five years and as such took the opportunity to stretch her muscles without question. She had not grown much at all over the years in terms of height, which contributed to her already natural stealth.

Alongside Silas and Siegbert—a boy who greatly resembled his father in both appearance and mannerisms—she quietly skulked around the halls below Castle Shirasagi, sticking to the shadows and stepping lightly. Gaining access to the level wasn’t difficult at all, as all it had required was for Beruka to take out the single guard posted at the rear entrance with a toss of a hand ax. After that, it was just a matter of avoiding the numerous other guards that patrolled the lower levels themselves. 

“Our top priority is to locate Kamui while also avoiding guards. If everything goes smoothly, all we should have to do is break her out of her holding cell,” Siegbert reminded his partners in his boyish voice. He was a young adult, but still appeared rather youthful. 

“You don’t have to remind me. Remember, I once did this for a living,” Beruka said. The covert operations she underwent in her younger years usually involved more bloodshed, though. “Keep your voices down.” 

Silas pressed his lips together and progressed as quietly as he could, not wanting to alert any Hoshidan guards that could be nearby. While he would fight with everything in his power to get his beloved wife back, he did wish to avoid any unnecessary conflict. It was just his nature. 

Beruka raised her hand and stopped when they reached a corner, prompting the boys to do the same. She slowly leaned forward and peered past the wall before drawing back and glancing at her partners with a dissatisfied expression. 

“Four congregated ahead. They are blocking our path. We can’t wait for them to move—we don’t know how long that will take and it will leave us exposed to being flanked.” She wrapped her fingers around the handle of the throwing ax strapped to her waist and closed her eyes. “We have no choice.” 

“Wait,” Siegbert said as he held out his hand. “Perhaps there’s an alternative route we could take. We should double back and see.”

Beruka shook her head. “No. Too risky. If we’re caught, the entirety of the castle guard may be alerted. We must advance.”

Silas bit down on his tongue and reluctantly went for the short-sword at his side. As much as he hated to admit it, Beruka was right. If all was to be done without major complications, they had to take out anyone in their way. With that thought in his mind, he drew his blade from his sheath and stepped forward with his companions, ready for whatever was to come.

* * *

Meanwhile, a prince was making his peace. 

Corrin stared down at his sister with pitiful eyes while a pair of guards stood off to the side, waiting to receive their orders. Kamui looked pathetic. She was kneeling on the cold ground with her arms hanging limply at her side, her mouth hung slightly open as if she had gone catatonic. What caught Corrin’s attention most were her eyes. Her usually striking and vibrant red pupils seemed to have lost their color and were now a muddled mahogany shade, as if life had left her completely. Her cheeks were sunken in and even her hair appeared to be falling out. Despite his sister’s sorry state and the fact that she would be dead in less than twenty minutes, Corrin held no pity. 

“You should see the way you look right now,” he said, slowly blinking. “You always cared far too much about your looks, you know. Always so prim and proper—like you were trying to impress someone who wasn’t even there. I was always jealous of your diligence in that area, but now I realize that you were only trying to make yourself look better for Gunter. Garon would have been disappointed in you if one of his reports said you were slacking on your royal manner. I suppose he wished for you to be ready to greet the public when the time came. Yet, he never seemed to put the same amount of care towards me.” 

Kamui did not respond. She did not even blink. She simply stayed idle as Corrin unlocked her cell himself with a sigh and stepped forward, casually approaching her before kneeling down and raising the key to the lock on her collar. 

“Don’t even bother trying to attack me, I could subdue you without lifting a finger. Unless you want your last breath to be taken in a cell, I suggest you comply.” When Kamui once again remained silent, Corrin shook his head and inserted the key into the lock before pulling. Instantly the collar came apart and revealed sickly looking red and purple bruises all around her neck as well as along her clavicle. Corrin frowned when she did not even stand up. “You don’t care about your dignity at all, do you? You’re supposed to be a princess. Have some damn respect for yourself.” 

He waited, and when his sister didn’t move a muscle, he glared at her before snapping his fingers and beckoning the guards to come to him. They entered the cell at once and each took one of Kamui’s arms before hoisting her up to her feet, her head limply hanging to the side and her expression unchanging. Corrin’s scowl deepened when he saw that her feet were not even planted on the ground. 

“Tell me, what’s the point of this act? Just to annoy me? You’re being childish, Kamui. Have you truly lost your last semblance of pride?” 

Nothing.

The prince bared his teeth and growled as his hand became clad in scales and grew in size. With the tips of his now clawed fingers, he squeezed his sister’s face and forced her to meet his gaze. He was prepared to begin screaming everything he could at her, but his shaking clenched fist suddenly became idle when he noticed something. Despite the sharp claws digging into her face, Kamui did not bleed. She didn’t react at all. 

Slowly, Corrin released the being before him and took a step back. The guards noticed her lack of blood as well and exchanged confused glances. Corrin stared with a furrowed brow. 

“Drop her,” he demanded.

“But, Sir—”

“That’s an order.” 

Reluctantly, the pair of guards simultaneously released their grasp on the prisoner and she fell to her knees before crumpling limply to the ground, her face right against the cold stone floor. Corrin’s heart began to race while he took his draconian hand and transformed his entire arm into a long lancelike appendage and took a single step forward. 

One of the guards grimaced. “Prince Corrin, don’t you think that this is rather extreme? What will we tell the civilians?” 

“Be quiet.” Corrin thinned his eyes and raised his lance arm in the air, gritting his teeth and letting out a grunt of effort before thrusting forward and piercing his prisoner’s back without a second thought. He withdrew his weapon and returned it to normal as his eyes widened in shock as well as despair. There was not a single drop of blood to be found. 

The guards stared in horror before Corrin spoke. “No. No, this isn’t possible. No magic is possible here unless it’s from me or Orochi.” He grit his teeth and began to lightly pull at his hair as his eyes grew even more intense. “She’s gone, she’s…find her. Find her now!” 

Idling for a moment, the guards frowned at their boss’ sudden change in demeanor before receiving a harsh reminder of their directions. Corrin cracked the stone wall with his fist and gave both of them a gaze that would render even the most lionhearted warriors terrified. 

“I SAID NOW!” 

As the guards scurried out of the cell and took off down either direction of the hallway, Corrin found himself breathing heavily and absentmindedly kneeling down before the husk of his dear old sister. He grabbed it by the neck and raised it in the air with a single arm before staring into its lifeless eyes, his rage growing with every passing moment. Finally, he cried out in frustration before slamming its head into the wall. Its head was left dented, as if someone had accidentally squashed the head of a clay model. Corrin was not satisfied. Again and again, he shouted while repeatedly bashing the creation’s head against the hard stone surface. He prepared to do so one last time before its artificial skin cracked all across its body. One by one, the pieces began to flake off and reveal a black void beneath that promptly faded into nothingness once the final fragment drifted away.

It seemed he had pushed it past its limits.

* * *

“We had better speed things up a tad. Now would be about the time they take her out of her cell.” 

Moving at a brisk pace down the hall, Shiro, Kotomi, Selkie, and Rhajat remained in a circular formation, obscuring the princess between them. Kamui was finding it a bit difficult to maintain pace with them and she was feeling cramped being surrounded on all sides, but she knew that it was necessary. The original plan was for Rhajat to cast an invisibility spell on them all, but unfortunately, she was unable to procure the materials needed in time. 

“Remind me once more why we did not just do this before dawn? It would have made things far more simple,” Kamui inquired. 

“Father started having every entrance to the dungeon bolted shut at night. We tried having Asugi pick one of them, but not even he could do it.” Kotomi sighed and shook her head. “He didn’t make this easy for us at all. If it weren’t for Rhajat, I don’t think we would have been able to pull this off.” 

“Remember, once you leave through the rear entrance, Matoi will be there to bring you about halfway to the border. It’s a long flight, so make sure you thank her. She’s not entirely on board with the idea of freeing you being a good thing, you know. Once you reach that point, you’ll have to find your way home on your own.”

Kamui nodded. “And my sword? Will it be returned to me safely?” 

“Of course! Asugi swiped it from the vault last night; it should be with Matoi by now. He said it wasn’t hard to get to at all.” Selkie frowned and shrugged. “I guess Corrin cared more about you than he did a legendary weapon.” 

Kamui pressed her lips together and aimed her eyes at the ground. He was willing to lock half a dozen of his guards underground for an entire night simply to keep her secure, but when it came to an object spoken about in legends, he was lenient on security. Did he really hate her  _ that  _ much? 

Before Rhajat could add anything, Shiro twisted his body just in time to avoid a small tomahawk racing directly at him. It hit the ground several meters behind him before skidding across the stone. The prince looked forward with wide eyes and witnessed three strangers standing a ways away from him. 

“I missed; rush them!” Beruka called, immediately beginning a sprint towards the group. Siegbert and Silas followed close behind with their weapons in hand. 

This was bad—Rhajat and Selkie were the only ones that could defend themselves, and not one of them was on guard. Shiro braced himself for impact before Kamui pushed past him with her mouth agape, her heart pounding in her chest. 

Immediately, the trio of Nohrians skid to a stop in shock. Silas stared for several moments, unblinking. There she was standing right before him. After being gone for a week, she had finally returned to him. His dearest wife.

“S-Silas. Beruka, Siegbert, what are you—” 

Silas dropped his weapon without a second thought and pulled Kamui into a tight embrace, squeezing her as if she would disappear if he were to let go. Neither of them were much for such explicit physical affection in front of other people, but that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that they were together again. 

A smile broke out on Kamui’s face and she wrapped her arms around her husband in return, resting her head on his chest. While the couple embraced, the others simply stood and watched. Shiro nervously glanced back down the hall to check for any patrolling guards before clearing his throat. 

“Look, we’ve got to get going. This is a time sensitive operation.” 

“What are you doing with Princess Kamui in the first place?” Siegbert put on a stern look and aimed his blade on the Hoshidans, immediately making the hair on Selkie’s neck stand straight and a scowl take over Rhajat’s face. “Answer at once.” 

“It’s fine, Siegbert! They’re helping me escape. Without them, I’d be well on my way to the gallows by now.” Kamui let her arms fall from Silas’ side and gave a small smile to her nephew. “They’re all on our side.” 

“See, listen to the adult here. This reunion is sweet and all but like I said, we’ve got to get a move on.” Shiro let out a sigh and closed his eyes, scratching at his head. “Okay, change of plans. You three must have come in from the back entrance. Take her there and get out of here. Please, make sure you’re not seen. Girls, we’re done here.” 

Silas nodded and took Kamui’s hand in his own. He had a plethora of questions that he wished to ask, but now was no time to dawdle. “Right. Each of you has my gratitude for this. Thank you.” 

Just as he turned around with Beruka and Siegbert in preparation to take off, a chill was sent down his spine by a blood curdling scream sounding out behind him. Kamui too felt the blood drain from her face. 

“ ** _KAMUI!!!_ ** ”

She wished she could just close her eyes and make all of this go away, but she knew that she had to face reality. There was no escaping this situation on just hope alone. With a look of terror, Kamui turned her head and saw the man she once knew as her brother standing at the end of the hall. 

Corrin was not himself, that enough was clear. Just like he had been during the ambush, he had taken on several of his draconian attributes, from the horns to the tail and even his hands. The walls were just barely far enough apart to fit his fully extended wings. While his sword was in its scabbard, the way he held his claws in front of him showed that he was more interested in ripping and tearing than slashing. He was hunched forward with his legs bent and his mouth hanging open, filled with teeth much larger and sharper than usual. Of the twins, only Kamui had beastlike teeth, so to see it on her brother disturbed her greatly. Most concerning, though, was the faint purple aura emanating from his body. 

Time seemed to slow down when the prince tensed the muscles in his legs and prepared to kick off. Kamui was trembling, the Hoshidans were gazing with wide eyes, and Silas was preparing to run. 

“FATHER!” Kotomi cried, but it was too late. 

Corrin was soaring towards them the very next moment at an astonishing speed as he roared with fury, and within seconds, he had blown right past his own comrades and reached his target. He brought his claws down only to make contact with Siegbert’s blade as opposed to the flesh of his sister. 

Rhajat began to manifest dark energy in her palm, but Shiro quickly grabbed her by the wrist and looked her in the eyes before shaking his head. “Go!” he called, and he took off down the hall with his partners. Rhajat and Kotomi were the only ones to look back, but while Rhajat was eyeing Kamui, Kotomi was focused on her father. 

A million thoughts ran through Kamui’s head in a single instant. She couldn’t fight. She had no weapons, no armor, and both her magic as well as her dragon abilities were disabled. She was far too weak after days spent in a cell with barely anything to eat to attempt to face Corrin with only her fists, though she was sure that it would go poorly even if she were in peak condition. All she could do was rely on her allies to protect her. 

“Kamui, run!” Silas demanded. Corrin slammed his feet down on the ground and screamed as he wrapped his hand around Siegbert’s arm and snapped it without a moment’s hesitation. He knew who the boy was; he was Xander’s son. But that meant nothing. He was in Corrin’s way, and so he had to be dealt with. 

The young boy let out a cry of agony before being raised in the air and thrown down the hall, landing hard on the floor and sliding across it. “RUN!” Silas repeated, squeezing his sword and beginning to swing on the man he had once called a friend. Beruka drew the last hand ax she had available and assisted Silas in his attack, but both of them knew that there was not much they could do. In this state, Corrin’s skin seemed practically impenetrable, and that combined with the armor he was already wearing made any attack against him almost worthless. 

Kamui stood frozen for a moment, but she knew that she had to act. She turned her body around and began to sprint away as fast as she possibly could. Her fists remained balled and she kept her eyes forward despite how much she wished to look back. She had to escape, and fast. 

“DON’T YOU RUN FROM ME!” 

With his attention entirely focused on his fleeing sister, Corrin’s reptilian arm shot out in front of him and raced towards Kamui. The princess yelped as his claws tightly seized her hair and stopped her in her tracks. He was trying to pull her back towards him, but she used all of her strength to keep her head forward and stay on her feet. If he got her on her back, it was over. 

“Hyaah!” 

Silas was not sure what had come over his old friend, but he was grateful for the fact that Corrin’s attention was entirely on Kamui. He had to make sure that she was able to escape. Raising his sword high in the air, he brought it down with all of his might onto Corrin’s arm and silently prayed that he was strong enough to protect that which he loved.

A moment later, Kamui nearly fell forward when she felt the pull on her hair suddenly become slack. Behind her, she could hear her brother draw in a sharp breath before letting out a scream that chilled her to the bone. Without thinking, she grit her teeth and looked behind her with her wide eyes. While Silas, Siegbert, and Beruka stared, Corrin was tightly gripping his bicep just above where his arm had been severed. The severed limb shrunk more and more by the second until it had reached its original size. It did not revert back into a human state, instead remaining clad in scales. 

Hoshido’s oldest prince began to hyperventilate as his entire body trembled. What remained of his arm was not bleeding, but what it _was_ doing was shaking far more than the rest of him. Even far up from where his wound was, an intense pain pulsed throughout his forearm. What was strange was that it felt as if it were internal and not related at all to the injury he had just sustained. Corrin’s head pounded and his vision reddened as the pain gradually grew more and more intense until it finally seemed to reach its peak. 

Corrin’s scream reached its crescendo as his arm involuntarily stiffened. In a split second, an entirely new arm had sprouted from his wound, already draconian in appearance and ready to be utilized. 

“It grew back!” Beruka whispered in disbelief. Corrin too had not anticipated this, but there would be time to ask questions later. Now, he had a duty to fulfill. Silas was the closest one to him, and so he was the first one to be dealt with. With his new arm, Corrin tightly balled his fast and slammed it into the knight’s side. While he had struck armor, the force was enough to send Silas crashing into the wall and severely cracking it. Warm blood trickled down the back of his head as he struggled to stand, but to no avail. 

Nohr’s young prince seemed terrified as his uncle turned his attention to him. Even though one of his arms was useless, he apparently still posed enough of a threat. Siegbert used his functioning arm to shakily raise his sword as he tried to keep on a brave face, but it had no effect on Corrin. Siegbert screamed as Corrin’s claws dug into his face and he was raised in the air before being thrown forcefully down the corridor once again, landing hard on his back before skidding across the floor. Now that two of the people in his way were dealt with, Corrin only had one more obstacle to tear down. 

The normally ice cold assassin was utterly aghast at the way Corrin looked at her. She had faced people stronger than her several times over the course of her career, but never had she been up against a monster. She prepared to swing her small tomahawk at him only to be met with sharp claws tearing right through her chest plate as well as her flesh. Blood splashed against the stone wall and floor as Beruka let out a silent scream and crumbled to her knees. The burning pain was almost unbearable. If he had slashed at her any lower, he surely would have pierced her heart and ended her life right then and there. 

“Beruka!” Kamui called, reaching towards her. Struggling to his feet, Siegbert began to limp towards her as he tightly held onto his broken arm and shook his head. 

“Auntie, we have to g-go! Now!” 

Corrin whipped his head around and locked eyes with his sister. While hers were filled with concern, his were filled with fury. He fully turned his body around and prepared to take off in pursuit of her before a loud, familiar voice called out from behind and stopped him in his tracks. 

“Corrin!” 

The prince froze and grit her teeth. Here  _ she  _ was, attempting to obstruct him in his goals once again. He knew that he could easily deal with her just by chucking his sword in her general direction, but she wasn’t important. All that mattered was Kamui. Kamui, Kamui, Kamui. With a growl, he twisted his wings so that he could zoom through the air, but just as he began to bring them down, he was suddenly petrified. 

“ _ Sing with me a song of birthrights and love; the light scatters to the sky above…”  _

With his head in his hands, Corrin’s wings stiffened and he began to thrash about in seeming agony. Kamui’s eyes grew misty upon seeing her brother in such a state, that combined with the distance between them making it difficult to make out Azura’s face. All she heard was the singer shout “go!” before continuing her vocalization. 

Kamui was finding it difficult to make her legs move before she processed the image of Silas making his way towards her with an encouraging smile. Despite this, the way he was stumbling and his low eyelids made evident the fact that his head wound was taking a toll on him. 

The princess bit down on her tongue as hard as she could without severing it. Here she had two men who had come to protect her and had been wounded for it as well as a woman that Lilith cherished dearly who was far too out of her reach for her to do anything about. Now was not a time for indecision. Inaction could mean lives lost, potentially including her own. She had to move. 

Kamui took a few strides forward to sling Silas over her shoulder before sprinting back the way she came and grabbing Siegbert along the way. While his arm may have been broken, the young man did his best to keep up with her pace.

“ _ Dawn breaks through the gloom, hard as a stone, lost in thoughts all alone. _ ” 

Her brother’s screaming mixed in with Azura’s song would echo in her mind for the rest of the day.

* * *

The execution was now running nearly half an hour late, and at this point the citizens of Shirasagi had long since begun to speculate as to what could be the explanation. Murmurs sounded from the crowd and even the Hoshidan guards standing on either side of the elevated gallows were beginning to grow nervous. As for the trio of Nohrian soldiers, they were relieved. 

Charlotte wiped droplets of sweat from her forehead and smiled. “Well, girls. I think it’s safe to say that we got off without having to lift a finger. Looks like those three did their job.” 

“Right ya are, Char! Alrighty now, we’re s’posed to meet up with them right on the outskirts of town. Y’all remember how long it took us to get here to begin with, so let’s start headin’ over now.” 

Mozu led the other two women through the masses while making sure that her hood remained up. While she may have been Hoshidan, Nyx and Charlotte would never be able to blend in. Charlotte’s golden locks and Nyx’s forehead marking would make them stick out like a sore thumb. 

The women waded through the dense sea of Hoshidans, slowly making their way towards the end of it all, unless Nyx noticed something. The murmurs were beginning to die down. Soon, all was silent. 

“What’s going on?” she asked as she stood on her toes in an attempt to see past the people in front of her. “I can’t see anything. Charlotte?” 

The taller woman pursed her lips, stopping in her tracks when Mozu did. “There’s…a carriage. It looks like someone’s arrived.” 

Mozu dissuaded any concerns immediately. “Hey now, they had to get here eventually. They’re probably just ‘bout to report the news of what happened. Don’t look so worried!” 

Despite her words, even the little farm girl that Kamui had recruited all those years ago found her heart beginning to race. There was still the possibility that they had failed and the delay was just a result of the fighting that occurred. Perhaps Beruka, Silas, and Siegbert had failed? If that were the case, then the women were going to have to take action. People would undoubtedly get hurt, but they could not very well allow Kamui to die here. 

Charlotte found her fingers making their way to the shrunken ax strapped to her thigh as she watched in anticipation as the carriage doors swung open. It was Nyx who was slated to make the first move, but she had to be prepared nevertheless. 

Gasps erupted among the crowd as the king of Hoshido himself stepped forth from the carriage in all his glory. Those gasps quickly shifted to cheers. Ryoma’s long brown locks were tied in a ponytail with a white ribbon and he donned a darkly colored yukata as well as a pair of dark wooden geta. He bore a small smile on his face, though his eyes matched the rest of his attire. Dark. 

One by one, the Hoshidan royal siblings exited the carriage and were met with cheers. Each of them was wearing traditional Hoshidan attire that were usually worn for funerals, but this was a special occasion as well as an event that the nation had not seen for almost a century. What concerned Charlotte the most was the expression each of the royals bore. Takumi’s eyes were cast in shadow, Hinoka’s face was constantly shifting from a feigned radiance to a genuine ambivalence, and Sakura appeared to be on the verge of tears. And yet, the family was not complete. 

Charlotte kept her eyes on the carriage door in anticipation and found her hands beginning to become clammy when she saw them close. Neither Azura nor Corrin were anywhere to be found. 

Ryoma led his siblings up the stairs of the elevated platform and cleared his throat, taking a deep breath before projecting his voice over the now hushed crowd. “My beloved people of Hoshido, I come to you today with less than favorable news. As you all know, today was scheduled to be the day of retribution for our lost princess, Kamui.”

The instant he said her name, boos erupted from the audience. They were at such a high volume that they made Mozu wince and cover her ears. Thankfully, they were quickly silenced by a raise of the king’s hand.

“Years ago, we were ecstatic to have returned her to us after eighteen long years. For the brief period that she was with us, I do truly believe that we bonded…however, she showed that blood meant nothing to her when she drew her blade on her own twin brother on the day our mother was murdered—murdered protecting her. She took the side of those who stole her from her rightful family and killed both of her parents. Since then, she’s both participated in and led attacks that have cost dozens of innocent lives. The burning of Notre Sagesse, the siege on Cheve. She even permanently crippled our beloved military leaders, Daimyo Yuzu. For this, I as king deem it fit that she be captured and promptly executed for her deeds.” Ryoma closed his eyes and let his arms fall loosely to the side. He appeared to be…defeated.

“I regret to inform you that despite our capture of Kamui several days ago, it appears that she has managed to escape our custody. As such, justice cannot be delivered on this day.” 

While cries of outrage sounded throughout the crowd, the trio of Nohrian women looked to each other with smiles of relief. Their plan had been successful! Now, all that was left for them was to escape without being noticed by authorities and they would be home free. 

“However!” 

Ryoma’s booming voice drowned out the displeased shouting of his subjects as well as regained the attention of Charlotte, Nyx, and Mozu. “I understand fully well that what the people of Hoshido deserve is a sense of retribution. You will not be going home completely disappointed today.” Ryoma put his hand on Hinoka’s shoulder and sent a shudder down her spine. “I’m sure you all have heard the news by now. Not long ago, one of my sister’s beloved retainers was murdered at the hands of Kamui herself. Setsuna was her name, and she was one of the most purehearted individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Now, she is lost to us, but her death will not go unpunished.” 

Nyx’s blood ran cold as she witnessed a figure descend from the sky and touch down next to the king. It was Corrin, of course, and his appearance was incredibly disconcerting. Not only was his usually tidy hair disheveled, but his armor was covered in fresh dents and slash marks. In addition to this, one of his arms appeared to be in its draconic state. This was not unusual at this point, but now, he had no reason to have it transformed like that. Despite this, the most concerning thing was not the prince’s appearance at all, but rather the bound woman he held over his shoulder. 

“Beruka,” Mozu choked out as she raised her hands to her mouth and her eyes went wide. 

“No…” Charlotte whispered, instinctively took a step forward. “They got her…” 

Ryoma continued his speech while his brother stood there with an expressionless face and his wings still out, though hanging low. “The woman you see before you has been identified as a retainer to Princess Camilla of Nohr. She was captured barely a half hour ago after Kamui’s escape. Seeing as how our own eldest princess’ retainer was killed at the hands of the enemy, we only saw it fit that the same fate should befall Nohr.” 

Corrin knelt down and set Beruka on her feet, as only her wrists were bound with rope. While her head hung low, all could see that her face was a ghastly white and that her armor was both pierced and stained red. Charlotte found her hands beginning to tremble; they were going to kill her right here. 

“D-do we attack?” Mozu asked, looking to Charlotte for an answer. “We were s’posed to act if we saw Kamui, but—” 

“Give me a second,” the princess blurted out as the crowd’s volume increased. Mozu was right, they had been instructed to make their move only if Silas and his team had failed in their task and Kamui was revealed to the public. According to Ryoma, Kamui had escaped, but now it was Beruka’s life on the line. 

The assassin weakly raised her head to catch a glimpse of the massive audience before her, all cheering on her impending death. Charlotte’s heart broke seeing one of her friends in such a state, then froze upon locking eyes with her. In the sea of bodies, Beruka had somehow managed to pick her out without any effort despite the hooded robe she was wearing. Charlotte could tell that she was on her last legs and would be gone in no time if she were not to receive any healing. The execution would only speed up her death. 

Charlotte drew in a sharp breath when Beruka shook her head slowly. She understood immediately what it meant.

“No…” she whispered as she balled her fists. “Let’s go. We’re still leaving.” 

“We’re just leaving her?” Nyx asked, her eyes widening in surprise. “But, what will Camilla—” 

“She’ll understand. Look, if we make a move now, that just means that more people die, and maybe one of us will be among them. We can’t…we can’t risk that.” 

Mozu looked like she was about to cry, but she was a good soldier. Even if she did not agree with them, she would never refuse an order. The farmgirl bit her lip and reluctantly nodded her head before continuing to shuffle through the crowd with Charlotte and Nyx, forcing herself to not look towards the gallows. 

Meanwhile, Corrin was staring at the crowd with tired eyes as his eldest brother continued his speech. He was tired. He was frustrated. He was angry. Not only had he let Kamui slip right through his fingers, but he had seemingly lost his arm and was prevented from recapturing Kamui by a woman he once trusted with his life. He had failed in every definition of the word, but he would at the very least be allowed to enact his vengeance on Nohr. He had suggested executing Beruka in order to receive justice for Setsuna as Hinoka’s retainer, but in truth, he simply wanted revenge. The fact that she was Camilla’s retainer was just a convenient justification and he knew that. 

After he had dealt with Azura, he had wanted to run right out of the Castle Shirasagi dungeon and pursue his sister, but it seemed her song had temporarily disabled his draconic abilities. If he could not fly, then there was no point in going after them by then. He contented himself with taking the life of one of Kamui’s companions instead. 

When Ryoma’s speech about justice or something along those lines concluded, Corrin put his hands on Beruka’s shoulders and began to walk her towards the rope noose that hung above them. He could have addressed his subjects, but he was far too tired to speak at the moment. 

“Corrin,” Beruka choked out weakly. “We don’t know each other, but I know Kamui. She—”

“Stop talking,” Corrin responded bluntly. “There’s no use in begging. Die with dignity.” 

“I’m not.” Beruka stumbled, prompting Corrin to roughly pull her back up and make her wince. “I only want to tell you one thing. Whatever it is you’re looking for, this is not the path towards it. There is always another way.” 

Corrin ignored her as he walked her up the small set of steps that led to the highest platform of the gallows. He turned her around so that she was facing him and took another step forward, placing her right in front of the noose. 

“I was an assassin for most of my life, so believe me, I know. An eye for an eye…it’s not the way. You can’t let your desire for revenge cloud your judgement.”

This girl was annoying. She talked a lot despite not knowing Corrin at all. He scowled, taking hold of the noose and forcing her head through it before turning around and stepping towards the lever that controlled the trap door on which Beruka was standing. 

The cold assassin appeared to be afraid despite the fact that she was still talking, though by this point the cheers of the crowd were drowning out her already hoarse voice and Corrin was too far to hear her. In seconds, her life would come to end. Beruka forced herself to carry on with her words, praying to the Dusk Dragon that they would somehow reach the lost prince.

“Please, remember your love. All of your siblings back home, they never stopped loving you. Kamui—”

Corrin pulled the lever without a second glance, and the cheers from the people of Hoshido reached its crescendo. 

* * *

_ Hoshido’s Assassin Prince was on his knees.  _

_ His head hung low and with his hair covering his eyes, Corrin simply stared at the dusty stone floor beneath him. Beruka had lost consciousness by that point, the only sounds being Azura and Corrin’s breath. The few guards that had been in the dungeon previously were currently giving chase to Kamui and her rescuers, though Corrin was sure that they were long gone.  _

_ Azura appeared to be suffering from a migraine. Her eyes were squinted in pain and the veins in her forehead bulged while sweat beaded down her face, but she forced herself not to show it too much. Instead, she spoke. _

_ “Corrin…you’re not well.” She squeezed her pendant in her hands and slowly approached the kneeling man. “This isn’t you. You know this. Back when we found Takumi in Mokushu—” _

_ “Azura…” Corrin spoke in a low, hoarse voice that would be barely audible to anyone not directly in front of him. “Do you know how sick I am of losing?” _

_ “What?” Azura inched closer to the prince. “Corrin, what are you talking about?”  _

_ “Five years ago. We lost the siege on Cheve. In the process, we lost Scarlet as well. She’s gone forever. In the skirmishes leading up to the war’s hiatus, Hoshido won only twenty-two percent of them. Hundreds of our soldiers were killed. I lost Setsuna. If the meeting in Izumo were a battle, then one could say I lost that as well. Capturing Kamui was the first I tasted victory in a long, long time. And just when I had her in my grasp…I let her slip away. She’s gone, and this war will continue, and countless lives will be lost. Because of you. What have you to say for that? Knowing that all that bloodshed will be on your hands.”  _

_ A chill ran down Azura’s spine as she slowly knelt down to get closer to Corrin. “I only wished to—”  _

_ The next instant, Azura’s was slammed against the wall with Corrin’s dragon hand wrapped around her neck, the pointed claws digging into her skin. The princess’ eyes were wide with fear, though the eyes of the man insulting her were filled with pure malice as he bared his beast-like teeth. _

_ “Who do you think you are?” he asked as he pushed her harder against the wall. “First you send your own son to Nohr, then you constantly badger me about sending that traitorous wench of a sister to the gallows, and now you directly defy me and allow her to escape. If you weren’t considered to be a princess as well, then you’d be sent to prison to rot for the rest of your life. Just what the hell is the matter with you!?”  _

_ Azura squeezed at Corrin’s arm, but found that no matter how hard she gripped, he wouldn’t budge. “You c-can’t kill her,” she choked out as tears welled in her eyes. “You’re a g-good person, Corrin. If you killed the person you loved the most…there would be no coming back from that.”  _

_ “And just what do you know about who I love?!” Corrin spat. “Don’t act like you know me, traitor! That woman killed my best friend and admitted to not caring a bit about what’s right! She’s evil, and all you’re doing is aiding her! How could you, Azura?” His voice broke and began to waver as his expression softened along with his grip. With her windpipe now unconstricted, Azura began to take in large breaths of air while she slid down the wall and Corrin’s gaze once again fell to the floor. “You’re supposed to be a Hoshidan. You’re supposed to be our princess. You…you’re supposed to be my sister.”  _

_ Corrin’s arm fell weakly to his side as he fully released Azura. The songstress rubbed at her now reddened neck and stared at him with her brows knit and a frown on her face. The toll the song had taken on her combined with her head banging against the wall had left her on the verge of passing out, but she stayed standing with willpower alone. She was more resilient than that.  _

_ “Corrin, I promise you that I am still on your side. Everything I do is the sake of the world around us. Please, you have to realize that there is more at stake here than just your revenge.”  _

_The prince did not respond. Instead, he slowly raised his draconian hand and stared at it for several moments before clenching his fist. He proceeded to grab Beruka’s limp body by the arm and hoist her over his shoulder, then raising his head to meet Azura’s eyes.  
“We promised our people an execution, and I’m going to give them one. Don’t come. I can’t guarantee your safety if you do.” _

_Azura trembled as Corrin skulked past her without a second glance. A million thoughts raced through her pounding head; what was she to do? She was certain that she could fix him if given the chance, but any trust he had in her had been severed. If he informed her brothers and sisters about the things she had done, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to maintain any sort of power at all. Would they still believe in her? Would they understand why she did she things she did? Regardless of whether or not they approved of Kamui’s execution, Azura knew it in her heart that none of them truly wanted her dead. Not even Takumi. They were good people, and Kamui was, too. Lilith knew that and that was precisely why she had tried her hardest to stop Corrin from killing his sister, but all she accomplished in the end was allowing the other Nohrian royals to escape and being branded a traitor by Hoshido.  
She cursed herself. Lilith…if Azura had gone with everyone to Izumo then she would have had a chance to at the very least offer the woman parting words, but no, she had defected to the enemy side and as such, Azura likely would not be seeing her for weeks at minimum. She had told everyone that she had matters to attend to regarding Midori, but truthfully… _

_ Azura bit down on her lip and shook her head; there was no use dwelling on the past. What she had to do was move forward. As such, she turned around and began to drag her feet down the corridor and towards the dungeon’s rear exit. If she was going to save Corrin, then there was work to be done. _

* * *

Kotomi never did like being in her father’s office. 

While Corrin was always a tender and loving parent, something seemed to come over him whenever he was in that room. He smiled less. He was more serious. It was as if he stopped being a father and was only a prince. Kotomi wasn’t quite sure what it was about that room that made him like this, but whatever it was, it gave her goosebumps.

The fact that she felt as if she were being interrogated by him only further contributed to her fear. While he sat at his desk with clasped hands and a solemn look on his face, she held her hands in her lap while sitting opposite him next to Shiro, Selkie, and Rhajat, all of whom had been present when Corrin discovered Kamui in the dungeon. Kotomi’s heart pounded in her chest and she found her hands getting clammy, so she was grateful that she had long since mastered staying stone-faced under pressure. 

“Your arm…” Selkie stared at Corrin’s scaly new appendage in awe. “Did Kamui do that to you?” 

Corrin shook his head. “No. Don’t worry about my arm. What I wish to know from you four is simple. Just what were you doing in the castle dungeon yesterday morning?” he asked in a seemingly monotone voice. “You all ran when I got close. Why?” 

Kotomi had figured that this was precisely what her father had called them all here for. This could potentially be bad, as none of them had come up with a set story in the time between Kamui’s escape and this meeting. One slip up, and it would be over. 

Rhajat yawned. “Glad you asked, Commander. To put it in simple terms, she was extorting us.” The sorceress shrugged before continuing. “I’ll freely admit that the four of us went into the dungeon without permission to take a look at the infamous Kamui, and when we got to her cell, she said that she’d have all of our parents killed if we didn’t help her escape. Now, we weren’t entirely sure how she’d actually go about getting those instructions to her friends back in Nohr, but we didn’t think it was a good idea to try our luck. Of course, we weren’t  _ actually  _ going to let her escape. Kotomi here was about to give her a solid chop to the neck before you showed up, which is when we collectively decided it would be best to just get out of there and let you duke it yourself. Isn’t that right, Kotomi?” 

Kotomi pursed her lips and nodded. “Y-yes, that’s exactly it. In hindsight, perhaps we should have assisted you in taking her and her rescuers down, though, Rhajat was without her magic and Selkie could not transform.”

Corrin blinked. “You could have simply told me. Considering the amount of ninjas and assassins we have at our disposal by now, protection would not be an issue.” 

“Didn’t want to put that sort of pressure on you,” Shiro said with a shrug. “We figured that we shouldn’t rely so much on the adults in our lives, you know? Do things on our own. Then again, we weren’t exactly planning on three Hoshidans showing up to rescue our prisoner, so that kind of put a damper on things…we’re glad you showed up when you did. I don’t think we would have been able to handle all four of them on our own.” 

Kotomi’s breath wavered for a moment as she met Selkie’s eyes. The fox was never the brightest girl, but she seemed to have caught on fast. Regardless, this felt wrong. Kotomi hated lying to her father, even if she did wish to directly defy his will. She could not very well just let him stage a public execution of his sister—the thought of what that would do to him as a person was terrifying. 

“Really though, are you alright, Uncle Corrin?” Selkie asked with a frown, further eyeing Corrin’s arm as well as changing the subject. “I know you should be used to it being like that since you use your dragon powers a lot, but if it’s permanently like that…I dunno what I’d do if I were stuck in my fox form.” 

“I’m fine,” Corrin put sternly. “If that’s what happened, then I suppose I can’t fault you four much. It would do you well not to pull stunts like that in the future. If an area is off limits, then it’s off limits. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” the children answered in unison. 

“Good. You’re dismissed.” 

The quartet rose from their seats at once, and after a respectful bow, quickly exited the prince’s chambers. Though three of them were royalty themselves, they each knew that Rhajat hated formalities and would refuse to bow if no one else did. When the door shut behind them, they began walking towards the house’s front door while exchanging glances with one other. 

“Was that good enough?” Selkie asked with a twisted mouth. “We’re going to have to let everyone else know what our story was just in case he questions any of them.” 

“Don’t be so anxious; I’ll handle all of that,” Shiro reassured his cousin. “Look, Rhajat. Selkie and I will walk you to where your parents are staying and then we’re going home. We’ll let Kiragi and the rest know the deal before tomorrow night, so all you’ve got to do is not let anything slip.” 

“Tch. You think I talk to my parents? You should pay better attention to the things I say.” Rhajat rolled her eyes before turning her attention to Kotomi. “You seemed nervous. Remember, if your mom or dad or sister find out, we’re done for. All of us.”

Kotomi nodded. “You don’t have to worry about me. I ah…I don’t talk to my parents much either.” 

The friends’ path was suddenly blocked by a smaller figure appearing out of what seemed like nowhere, but in reality had only just stepped out of the bathroom. Her eyes were bloodshot and a deep frown stayed etched on her face as she looked up at the visitors. 

“Oh, you guys are here…did Papa call you?” Kara asked as she rubbed her eyes. 

“Kara!” Kotomi knelt down before her little sister. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.” 

The little girl rubbed her red nose and threw her arms around her big sister’s neck. “I was just thinking about how the bad guy got away and got sad. Papa was supposed to end the war, but now it’s going to go on forever.” 

“Aw, don’t say that!” Shiro said with a confident smile as he pat Kara on the head. “No war lasts forever, and honestly, getting rid of Kamui would have probably just made things worse. I mean, it’s not like their entire army is centered around her—” Shiro cut himself off and grimaced before rubbing at his neck. “Then again, I guess you’re a little too young to know details like that. Either way, I figured you wouldn’t want her to be killed. She is our aunt, you know.” 

Kara gasped. “Of course I want her gone! She makes Mama and Papa sad!!! She’s bad! You fought to capture her, too, you know! Don’t you want all the fighting to stop?”

Shiro held his hands up in defense. “‘Course I do, kid, I’m just not sure if a public execution was the right path towards it…look, the war’s going to continue, that enough is evident. But we’re strong, yeah? Your dad’s one of the best commanders in history. So, what’s going to happen is that we’re going to keep fighting, we’re going to utterly decimate Nohr, we’re going to beat that pesky king Iago, and then who knows? Maybe…maybe we can get a chance to meet our aunt. Formally, this time. Not in battle.” 

Kara puffed out her reddened cheeks and crossed her arms. “I guess that’s fine, too…as long as people stop fighting.” A smile quickly bloomed on her face and suddenly, she was beaming. “Alright! Then we all have to work hard to beat the bad guys, OK?”

“Yeah! We’ll give those Nohrians the ol’ razzle dazzle! They’ll never know what hit ‘em!” Selkie concurred with a mischievous snicker that spread to Kara. “We’ve got to get home now, but you’ll train with me tomorrow, right?”

“Right!” Kara jumped for joy and laughed. Though she was sobbing less than two minutes ago, she had now become the beacon of happiness that she usually was. 

Rhajat lazily waved at the sisters before leaving the household with Shiro and Selkie. Before Kotomi could lose herself in her thoughts, her little sister tugged at her arm. 

“Hey, hey! Mama’s out on business and Papa’s in his office right now, so it’s practically just the two of us! Let’s go to my room; I want to show you something I’ve been painting! Come on, come on!” 

“A-alright!” Kotomi responded with a smile. “I can walk by myself, you know!” 

Kara may have been a little too blindly devoted to her father, but regardless, she was still Kotomi’s baby sister. While they may have had opposing ideals, they shared a bond that could never be broken, and for Kotomi, bonds were all that really mattered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter than usual this time, but that's because the events didn't really call for something super long. I played around with shorter scenes and more frequent transitions for this one, which was fun, but I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon just due to the way the rest of the plot plays out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, have yourself a good one.


	22. Waking Dreams

Kamui hated feeling helpless. 

Despite growing up with a pair of maids as well as Jakob at her beck and call, she had always been the type of person to do things herself. She would tidy the room she shared with Corrin by herself, maintain her own weapons, and occasionally cook her own meals. A teenaged Jakob was initially shocked at her self-sufficiency, but soon grew used to it, choosing to devote himself to vigorously carrying out the tasks she decided against performing herself. 

On the rare occasions when she would fall ill, Kamui always pushed off treating herself until she could no longer bear it. The way people would dote on her during those times made her blood boil. As such, she was certainly displeased about the state she was in now. 

Though a week had gone by since Matoi had transported her, Siegbert, and Silas to the border—a feat that had been incredibly taxing for her pegasus—her appearance was still rather unhealthy. As she sat up in her bed with a bowl of soup in her lap, she stared at her reflection in the silver spoon. Gone was her natural glow, having been replaced with a sickly pale color present throughout her entire body. Thankfully her sunken cheeks had filled in, though she still appeared to be rather scrawny. If she could have it her way, she’d be in the training grounds at that moment getting her muscle back, though she knew all too well that her condition would only worsen if she were to do such a thing. 

Kamui looked to the door when her ears picked up the sound of the knob rattling for a brief moment. The entrance to her bedroom slowly creeped open and she was greeted with the sight of her older sister’s comforting smile. Camilla entered, followed closely by Laslow, Peri, and Soleil, all of whom seemed rather eager to see the princess.

“I’m flattered. I expected your visit, of course, Peri, but to bring the whole family is something special,” Kamui said with a smirk. 

“What kind of girl would I be if I left a cutie like you all alone in bed?” Soleil snickered and held out her arms, presenting a white saucer on which a single pink and blue cupcake sat. The white frosting was covered in heart shaped sprinkles—also pink and blue—a signature of Peri’s confections. 

Laslow flashed an unopened bottle of champagne as well as a smile. “I know you don’t really drink much, but I’ve had this bottle for a while and figured I may as well put it to good use.” 

Peri pouted. “It was _ supposed _ to be for our anniversary, but…my daddy sent over a bottle that’s worth way more, so this is fine.” 

Kamui noticed that Camilla held between her fingers several wine glasses, prompting her to give Soleil a suspicious look. “Are you even old enough to have alcohol?”

“Nope!” Soleil declared proudly. “Eighteen next month, so I’ve still got a while! But who cares about legality or tradition? You married a knight and Camilla here married a dog, and you’re princesses. To hell with tradition!” 

“My Keaton is not a dog!” Camilla countered with a chuckle as she set the glasses down on Kamui’s nightstand, stepping over to the bedroom window to gather chairs for them to sit on. “I’ll have you know that he is a _ wolf _, thank you very much. The same goes for my darling little Velouria, and they’re perfect the way they are.” 

“Perfect? Arthur’s cape tore off the other day and Velouria pocketed the scrap immediately! Your daughter’s a weirdo. A hot weirdo, but a still a weirdo.” 

Laslow sighed and shook his head. “Sunshine, really, must you comment on the appearance of all your female peers? Don’t get me wrong, I was the same back when I was your age, but people might take it the wrong way.” 

“Come on, Dad! We’ve been over this a billion times by now. I’m the type to call ‘em like I see ‘em, and if I like what I see, I’m not going to hide that!” Soleil giggled as she walked over to Kamui’s bedside and set the cupcake down on her bed tray. “You get what I mean, don’t you, Kamui? When there are so many beautiful ladies all around you, how are girls like you and me supposed to not be blown away?” 

Kamui stifled a laugh, raising her hand to her mouth. “Well, I _ am _a married woman, and you forget the fact that some of these aforementioned beautiful women are the children of people I consider to be friends. I take it Odin and Selena wouldn’t be pleased with me if I were to flirt with Ophelia.”

“Hey, neither would I! She’s my girlfriend, so back off!” 

The occupants of the room laughed together as Camilla set down the chairs so that two were on each side of Kamui’s bed. Soleil sat next to the princess while the married couple chose seats next to each other. Laslow undid the wrapping on the champagne bottle before removing the metal cage from the cork and polishing the bottle with his shirt, then aiming away from everyone and flawlessly removing the cork like he’d done a hundred times before. Peri clapped and he gave a suave smile in response. 

“I’m amazing, I know.” 

As Kamui watched Laslow pour the drink into each of their glasses, she could not help but wonder about him. Despite now knowing about his origins, she had yet to discuss it with him. She could only assume that Selena or Odin had told him by now, and yet, he acted the exact same towards her as if nothing had changed. Laslow was…strange. Odin had mentioned it before, but Kamui found it peculiar that he had decided to marry and even have a child with someone not from his world. Of course, she understood that one could not help but fall in love, but what was he going to do when this was all over? When he had fulfilled his promise to her grandfather? She presumed that he would be returning home with Odin, Selena, and perhaps Ophelia, but could he take his wife and child with him? Knowing Peri, Kamui doubted that she would have any qualms about going off to live with her husband in another world, but Soleil was a different case. She was a social butterfly and had made a multitude of friends in her own world, so the decision would likely be much more difficult for her. There was also another thing…

Kamui would miss them.

Not that she expected that factor to influence their decision at all, but the fact of the matter was that Kamui had grown rather attached to these people over the years. If one were to ask her the name of her best friend, she would answer Peri in a heartbeat. Laslow often served as a source of wisdom for her regarding war when she was feeling uncertain of herself, Selena and her would bond over stories from their pasts, and Odin was endlessly entertaining, even if Kamui did hate to admit it. They were her friends, and the thought of them leaving her made her heart ache. 

“Darling, are you feeling alright?” Camilla asked with a concerned frown. “You’re staring into space.”

Kamui blinked several times. “Oh, am I? My apologies. I was only thinking about something unimportant.” 

“Well in that case, how about we focus on something that _ is _important, hm?” Laslow held up his drink in an exaggerated fashion, prompting those around him to giggle. “A toast. What shall we make it out to?” 

“Ooh! How about to Soleil and Ophelia? Their six-month anniversary is coming up soon!!!” 

“Moooom,” Soleil whined. 

“I have a better idea,” Laslow said. The women raised their glasses in unison before he cleared his throat and closed his eyes, his smile slowly fading. “To Beruka, who left us too soon. May her soul rest in Valhalla.” 

Camilla completely froze for an instant and her face went dark. Though she touched her glass to the others’ like the rest, she lowered her arm the slowest of all. Her younger sister frowned at this, setting her drink on her bed tray and placing her hand on Camilla’s arm.

“Sister? What is it?” 

“It’s nothing,” Camilla answered as she raised the glass to her lips. “I’ve done my mourning already. I’m fine, now. Really.” 

Peri shuffled in her seat and leaned forward, staring at the princess. “Mmm. I don’t think so. It’s not good to suppress your emotions, you know. If you do that, then eventually they’ll come flooding out all at once. You don’t want that to happen, trust me.”

“Yeah, Mom’s right!” Soleil added. “Sure, maybe she, Dad and I aren’t as close to you as Kamui or the rest of your family, but you can still be vulnerable around us. We won’t tell anyone, we promise.” 

“No, truly, I’m alright,” Camilla assured them, forcing a smile. “It’s just that…Beruka was very special to me. Not to say that the rest of the people close to me aren’t, but she was a unique case.” She sighed and set her glass down before placing her hands in her lap. “You all know that Beruka mostly grew up as a part of an underground assassin’s guild. After I rejected a particular nobleman’s marriage proposal—he was in his forties and I had just turned twenty, plus I simply wasn’t interested—he decided to use her services to put out a hit on me. Naturally, I was able to disarm her with little effort, but when she was down and waiting for me to finish her off…I didn’t see someone who had just attempted to take my life. I saw a young woman who hadn’t been given the love that everyone needs for a healthy development. As such, I offered her a small position among my handmaidens. I’ve never truly known why, but she accepted. As time went on, though, I realized that her skills were not in cooking or sewing, but in combat, so I decided to promote her to retainer. I was the first one to ever truly show her any real love…losing her was like losing a sister.” 

Kamui closed her eyes and took a sip of her drink before pursing her lips. “I really am sorry, Camilla. If it hadn’t been for my actions, then Beruka would still have her life. It’s my fault.” 

“Kamui!” Camilla gasped. “Don’t you ever say something like that! If you hadn’t done what you did after our meeting, we all would have been captured or worse, and if she hadn’t gone out to save you, then you surely would have been killed. Your life is a blessing, my dear, and the best thing you can do now to honor Beruka’s sacrifice is to make sure you do the most you can with it. To start, get better soon so that you can get back into action and win this gods-forsaken war.” The elder sister took Kamui’s hands into her own and squeezed as she gave her a reassuring smile. 

Soleil set her glass down and brushed her hair out of her face, eyeing the window across from her. “Uh, sorry if this is kind of personal, but does this change anything regarding your brother?” she asked. “Maybe I don’t get it because I’m an only child, but I don’t know if I’d be able to face anyone who killed someone that important to me, even if they _ were _ my sibling.” 

Camilla’s smile shrunk slightly. “Corrin is…Corrin is my precious little brother. I don’t know if there’s anything he could do to make me stop loving him. I say that even after he tried to kill us barely two weeks ago. I think that…I believe that he killed Beruka out of malice. Kamui was gone, but he could at least take the life of one Nohrian that day. I read a transcript of King Ryoma’s address and he claimed that he only saw it fit that one of my retainers be killed since one of Princess Hinoka’s was not long ago. Corrin has never been one to believe in an eye for an eye, though, I realize it’s very possible that I no longer know him. Five years is an awful long time to be apart.” 

“I suppose he must feel as if we’re even now.” Kamui deeply sighed before squeezing her eyes shut and covering her face. “While I was in captivity, he told me that I had recently killed a close friend of his in battle. Her name…Setsuna. It took me a long time to remember, but I think I know who he was talking about. A pretty girl who was impressively good with a bow. When she saw my face, she looked as if she regretted attacking me and said that she was supposed to stay away from me. Once I had…dealt with her, a man screamed and held her body, and the way he looked at me…Gods. I feel sick just thinking about it. That may have been the girl Ryoma spoke of.” 

“We could ask Xander if we wanted to know for sure!” Peri pointed out. “Leo too, probably. I think they both know a lot about the Hoshidan princes and princesses.”

Now, Camilla was frowning. “I would rather not speak to Xander right now.” 

Kamui’s hands fell and revealed that she too bore a downtrodden expression. She had almost forgotten about what Xander had admitted at Izumo. It seemed he still had not reconciled with Camilla over it. Truthfully, Kamui was not sure how she should feel. Corrin had claimed to forgive him, but he had always been much more understanding and empathetic than she was. After growing up practically idolizing her older brother, the fact that he was willing to throw her life away simply as an attempt at an assassination made her feel…disposable. Xander had said that he was remorseful and disgusted at the fact that he would even consider such a thing, and while Kamui truly did believe that, she had to question just what he felt for her when she was a child. Did he only grow to love her when she started winning battles for Nohr? Was that all that mattered to him? If she were as lousy at swordsmanship as Leo was or had the tactical mind of an oaf like Arthur, would he feel anything towards her at all…?

“You know, he still won’t tell us what it was you guys fought about. It’s not like it mattered much considering the whole ‘Kamui was captured by the enemy and was about to be executed’ situation, but I’m still curious. You don’t have to tell us if you’re uncomfortable with it.”

“I would rather not, thank you.” Camilla pursed her lips before leaning forward and picking up the cupcake before Kamui. “You haven’t touched it yet. Here, say ‘aaah’.” 

Kamui could not help but chuckle; her sister was certainly a strange one. “Aaah,” she vocalized, opening her mouth wide as Camilla gently put a part of the cupcake in her mouth. She took a bite and began to chew, smiling upon her taste buds being graced with the delicious presence of the pastry. Her face flushed red with delight. “Gods, Peri. You never fail to impress me.”

The cotton-candy-haired woman grinned. “I live to please!”

Soleil snickered and took a swig of her champagne. “Yeah, I’m sure you did a whole lot of ‘pleasing’ back when you dated Kamui here, Mom.” 

“For the last time, they never dated!” Laslow replied in frustration. “And stop making weird comments involving your mother! It isn’t normal!” 

The group laughed together—all but Laslow—and continued their drinking together as the hands on the clock ticked by. The sun soon began to set and the light of the room grew dimmer. Peri yawned and Laslow stretched his arms as Soleil poured out the last of the champagne in her glass. 

“Alright, we should be heading out soon if we want to make it home before nightfall.” Laslow stood up and returned his chair to where Camilla had moved it from as Soleil quickly downed the last of her beverage, her face burning red. 

“Aaaw, we’re leaving already? But we just got here!” she slurred, punctuated with a giggle. Her mother grimaced as she took her hand and pulled her to her feet. 

“I think you’ve had a little too much to drink. Remind me not to give you anything for your birthday…” 

Camilla smiled and waved at the family. “I think I’ll stay here with Kamui a little longer before I head off to bed. My room isn’t far, after all.” 

“Sounds good to me.” Laslow smiled back and gave the sisters a salute, making his way towards the door. “Kamui, it was nice to see you doing well. We’ll have to get together sometime, just the two of us.” 

Kamui snickered. “Still flirting, I see. I would love to.” 

“Whaaaaat? You’re cheating on Mom?!” Soleil gave an exaggerated gasp while Peri opened the door with an apologetic smile and had Laslow usher her out before she could be any more bothersome. 

“Good night, Kamui! I hope you get better real soon! I’ll see you later, Lady Camilla! Bye!” And with that, the energetic knight left the room, closing the door behind her only to immediately stumble to the side upon something bumping into her leg. “Oof! Hey, what’s the big idea?!” She looked down to inspect just what had assaulted her only to be greeted by a short boy with a hair full of silver. “Oh, it’s just you, Kana. On your way to kiss your mommy before bed?”

“N-no!” Kana denied, his face red with embarrassment over the very idea. “I forgot something in my room! Out of the way!” 

Kana forced his way past the woman as he continued onward, prompting her to cross her arms and stick her tongue out at the young boy. Kana soon turned a corner before stopping. With his face still burning, he glanced at the clock on the wall and grit his teeth upon seeing the time. It was two minutes to nine on the first day of the week. The set meeting time was approaching. After quickly scanning the area to make certain that no one could see him, Kana outstretched his hands and moved them in a circle, conjuring up a doorway to the Astral Plane in the process. He wasted no time in jumping right through it and hurriedly closing it behind him. 

Before him stood a tree larger than any he had ever laid eyes on, whether it be back in the Deeprealm in which he grew up or in the world where humanity resided. He had been told that Lilith had erected it long ago when his uncle had first stepped foot in the Astral Plane. Lilith’s conjurative abilities in this world had always impressed him, but he had gained a new respect for her when he initially laid eyes on the gargantuan structure. 

Kana looked all around him and found nothing. He clenched his fist in anger, though he knew that his confidant was almost always eerily punctual, usually arriving the instant the clock struck nine o’clock. Despite this, they had opted not to show up at all the week prior. While Kana expected that, the fact that he was left waiting alone in the vast meadow of the Astral Plane for nearly an hour made his already hot blood boil. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Kana’s ears picked up the sound of something soaring through the sky. From the way it cut through the air, it had to have been moving incredibly fast. He aimed his eyes towards the sky to try and catch a glimpse of whatever it was that was approaching, but saw nothing. It was only when he heard something land with a loud _ THUD _ behind him that he whipped his head around and bore witness to the form of his benefactor, who was folding in their wings just after they landed. 

“Y-you…” Kana began as he fully turned his body around, clenching his fists. “You weren’t here last week.” 

Brushing off his shoulder with a tired expression, Corrin only gave an “Mmm” in response before blinking. He paused upon locking eyes with his young nephew and the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. He did not seem to be apologetic at all, much to Kana’s frustration. 

“Temper your nerves from now. I’m not in the mood to deal with a child throwing a tantrum.” 

“You _ said _ the first day of every week. Nine o’clock. Right next to this tree. That’s the way it’s been for months and you abandon me without an explanation. Why?” Kana asked through grit teeth.

“Tch. I shouldn’t have to explain why; isn’t it obvious? I was in the process of arranging your mother’s death, so why would I—” 

“YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T TOUCH HER!” Kana spat, taking a large step towards the man he called Uncle. “I told you about Shigure, I told you they accepted the Izumo invitation, and you said that you wouldn’t hurt anyone in exchange! You LIED!” 

“I said what I had to say to get what I wanted,” Corrin corrected. “Truthfully, you were naive to strike up a deal with the enemy to begin with. You’ll learn one day, though. You’ll see that war is cruel and unfair, and that you can’t trust—” 

Kana saw red. He drew a blade from the sheath on his belt and kicked off of the grass, the tip of the weapon aimed at his uncle’s neck. He let out a scream from the very core of his being as he lunged only to be stopped dead in his tracks by a large hand grabbing him by the face and raising him in the air. The boy kicked and thrashed about, but it was of no avail. 

“Is _ this _ how Kamui’s been training you? I’m disappointed. I expected more from such a competent fighter, but I suppose we all have our strengths. Clearly, teaching isn’t one of them.” 

Corrin tossed his nephew aside like he was nothing. Kana rolled on the grass and winced at the pain in his face for a moment before rising to his feet and aiming his hand at Corrin, transforming it into a toothy maw. It was far smaller than either Corrin or his mother’s, though curiously enough, the orb of water growing within it was of a red color as opposed to blue. 

“Bastard!” Kana screamed as the maw snapped closed and the attack shot out at high velocity. He drew in a sharp gasp upon realizing that his target had moved. The next moment, he found his legs giving out from under him and his arms growing limp when something incredibly hard slammed into his neck. Corrin stood above the boy with a stiffened hand and a bored expression. 

“You’ve been useful, Kana, I’ll give you that, but your services won’t be needed any longer.” Corrin sighed as he lowered his arm and manifested before him his own exit from the Astral Plane, giving his fallen nephew one last look of pity. “I do wish that we could have been a family, but unfortunately, your mother is terrible at decision making.” 

Kana grunted as he struggled to move, but his body had betrayed him. He was unable to so much as wiggle his toes. With his face in the dirt, he seethed as Corrin stepped towards the portal. Kana knew that this was potentially the last time he would ever be seeing his uncle. As such, he knew that he had to speak now before it was too late. 

“_ Why? _” he squeaked, his eyes thinning. “How could you do this?! She’s your sister, damn it! You grew up together and you were going to have her killed in front of hundreds of people! What kind of person does that?! What happened to the love between you two?!” 

Corrin paused. Slowly, his dissatisfied face morphed to one of anger.

“She’s tried to kill me before, you know. Five years ago, back when we first separated. If my reflexes had been any slower, she would have taken my head off. It was fair game after that.” 

“What, you think she hasn’t told me that story by now?” Kana asked in response. “She was scared, in mourning, and feeling betrayed by the person closest to her! Of course she would lash out! What makes you think she would ever try something like that now?”

“Your mother is a murderer, child! She’d throw me or any innocent person off of a cliff if it meant blindly defending her so-called family!” 

“Oh, of course! That’s why she spared every last one of you when you ambushed her and her siblings on the path from Izumo!” Kana felt a single finger twitch and drew in a sharp breath, surprised. “What, do you think she couldn’t eviscerate you if she wanted? Her, Aunt Camilla, and Uncle Xander would be enough to deal with anything you threw at them. The only reason any of those people back then are still standing is because my mother would never hurt you on purpose.”

Corrin bit down on his tongue and thinned his eyes. “Idiot little boy; don’t pretend like you know what she’s _ really _ like. She personally took the life of someone close to me, she rejected my proposal for a peace treaty, and for what? To protect her own ego! She doesn’t give a damn about the lives being lost every day on the battlefields, she just wants the glory of conquest! That’s all Nohr’s ever wanted!” 

“_ Ego? _” Kana repeated as he found himself able to clench both of his fists. “Is that what you think of her? Gods, if only you knew how much she hated herself…do you think she would have hurt that girl if she knew how much she meant to you? Really, tell me.” 

“It doesn’t matter!” Corrin spat. “I’m not special. Every life she takes is precious to someone. The life of every Hoshidan or Chevois soldier is worth something; the life of every Notre Sagessean that lost their lives in the Great Fire is worth something!”

Slowly, Kana pushed himself up as he found the sensation in his legs returning. He turned his neck to check on Corrin’s position—he was still facing the portal. Good. 

“Newsflash, genius. This is war, and in war, people die. Don’t pin everything on my mother just because you have a grudge on her. You’ve killed people, your siblings have killed people, even your wife has killed people. What about the Nohrian blood on your hands? Do they not matter? Mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, do their lives mean nothing because you’ve labeled them in your head as being ‘bad’?” 

“Shut up!” Corrin shouted, squeezing his eyes shut as his head began to pound. “You’re just a child—what do you know of what’s right and wrong? What do you know of justice?! Everything I’ve done is in service of peace!” 

Kana finally rose to his feet, now having regained full control of his body. With his gaze focused on his target, he once again outstretched his arm towards Corrin. 

“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. That’s why you needlessly hung a Nohrian soldier who was dying because of you to begin with. Because you killed Beruka…that’ll help you achieve peace, right?” 

Corrin did not respond. 

“You’re not working to achieve peace between the nations,” Kana breathed as he began to step forward. “You’re working to achieve peace within yourself.” 

The Assassin Prince whipped his body around the instant he heard the sole of Kana’s foot press into the grass. He drew his dragon arm back in preparation to grab the boy from afar, but it was too late. His eyes widened and his pupils shrank when he felt the sharp appendage piece right through his armor as well as his belly and out through his back. There the little boy stood, apparently shocked by his success. 

Kana withdrew his lance arm and transformed it back to normal only to find his fingertips dripping with blood. He stared at his hand for a moment before turning his attention back to his uncle, who stumbled back before tumbling right down through the portal he had created. 

When Corrin’s consciousness faded, so did his concentration, and with it the portal. And so, he found his vision fading to black as he lay in a slowly growing pool of his own blood on the floor of his own office, until all was dark. 

* * *

“…out of commission…a day…able to heal most of it…”

Corrin was stirred from his slumber by the sound of conversation. His eyes slowly blinked open and he stared at the ceiling for a moment before forcing his head to turn slightly so that he could see just who was speaking. At his bedside, Kagero stood in her nightgown with a concerned look on her face and her hands clasped over her heart. Sakura was right next to her with a healing staff in hand. He quickly gathered from the familiar feeling of the mattress that he was in the bedroom he shared with his wife; someone had moved him. 

“Be sure that he doesn’t get out of bed before this time tomorrow. It’s a minor injury, but he could potentially hurt himself internally if he moves around too much.” 

“Any farther to the left and it would have punctured one of his kidneys…” Kagero whispered in disbelief before closing her eyes and putting a hand on her face. “Thank you, Sakura. I’m glad you were able to get here as quickly as you did.” 

“S-so Papa’s going to be alright?” 

Ah, so Kara was here as well. Of course she was; if Corrin was injured then it was only natural that his wife and children would be at his side until he woke up.

“Yeah, it seems like it,” Corrin grunted as he forced a smile. Kagero gasped and turned her head to look at him immediately, a wide smile blooming. 

“Corrin! You’re awake!” she immediately stepped forward and threw her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder as Kara shouted “Papa!” and jumped for joy. “Gods, what happened to you? I heard something fall from the hallway and when I came in, you were passed out with a hole in your side!” 

The prince winced—he would have to tell her eventually…”It’s a long story, dear. I’ll fill you in on the details later.” He looked to his sister and smiled, giving her a nod. “Sakura, thank you. I can always rely on you.” 

“I just happened to be nearby when Kotomi went to get someone for help…I’d like to know how this happened as well.” Sakura pressed her lips together and adjusted her feet, staring at the ground. “You don’t really have to wait to tell us, do you?”

As Kagero released him from her embrace, Corrin felt his heartbeat begin to hasten. This was all that damned child’s fault. If he had just stayed down and kept his mouth shut, Corrin never would have had to disclose this information in the first place. Regardless, he couldn’t very well just tell his family the truth. What would they think of him if they found out that he had been using a mere child to his advantage only to betray him? The young held his tongue between his teeth before speaking.

“I…I was in the Astral Plane. I wished to speak with Lilith, you see. She was injured severely during our ambush and I wanted to know if she was well. Luckily, she happened to be there, and you all know that she’ll come if you so much as speak her name in that place…I tried to apologize for what happened, but she wasn’t having it. I don’t know how or why she has those powers that she used on us back then, but she used them again while my guard was down. A spear of lightning right through me.” Corrin grimaced and gently placed a hand on the place where Kana had stabbed him. Sakura had healed the actual wound almost completely, but pain still lingered. “I managed to open a portal back here and escape, but I must have passed out from the pain. I’m thankful for that, though. I may not have been able to close it in time if I hadn’t, and if she followed me through…well, there’s no telling what sort of damage she could have done.” 

“Auntie Lilith…” Kara frowned as her eyes grew misty. “Why’d she betray us and team up with the bad guys? Doesn’t she love us?” 

“Of course she does,” Kotomi quickly answered before biting down on her bottom lip. “I mean…I think she does. But she loves Kamui too, and didn’t want to see her hurt, I suppose.” 

“Not that that’s any excuse for betraying us,” Kagero added with a twinge of pain in her voice. “Lilith…so many years of camaraderie only for her to turn her back on Hoshido.” 

“C-can you really be a traitor to a place you never swore fealty to in the first place?” Kotomi muttered. Her face burned hot when she realized that everyone’s judging eyes were on her. “I’m not defending her, I swear! It’s just that…she was always neutral, right? Every time I’d ask, she’d tell me that it was because she refused to pick between two people she loved a lot and swore to protect. I don’t know if I’d consider her a ‘traitor’.”

“Neutrality in the face of evil is just as bad as evil itself, Kotomi,” Corrin advised with a hardened look. “Honestly, I should have confronted her about it years ago. After Cheve. To support an army who’d commit such a horrific atrocity…it’s unforgivable. This is my fault. If I’d had talked to earlier then she would have seen just how far gone Kamui is and none of this ever would have happened.” 

Kara unconsciously took hold of her sister’s arm and leaned against her. “Then…we’re going to have to fight her, right? I don’t want to hurt Auntie Lilith…” 

“Unfortunately, that is the reality for all the loved ones of turncoats. While it may be regrettable, it is unavoidable. We can only pray that we don’t ever cross paths with her on the battlefield,” Kagero told her daughter with a slight reassuring smile. Despite the effort, Kara maintained a downtrodden face. 

Sakura approached the small girl and knelt down to meet her eyes, giving her a warm smile before speaking. “Kara…I know it’s sad to think about, but sometimes the people we love do bad things. This doesn’t mean that they don’t love us or that we have to stop loving them, but we have to do our best to put them back on the right path. This is a matter of war, though, which means that we’re going to have to do a lot of hard things in order to make that happen. Don’t worry, though. Once all of this is over, you can play with Lilith just like you always did.”

While a hopeful smile quickly took over Kara’s face, Corrin scowled. “Your optimism is appreciated, Sister, but let’s not get her hopes up. Lilith may have been precious to us at one time, but now, she is lost to us. It’s not realistic to assume she’ll have a sudden change of heart after suffering defeat, and even if she did, it doesn’t erase all the damage she’s done.” The man cursed under his breath and tightly gripped the sheets laid over him. “To think, we would have had no issue handling every last one of those Nohrians if she hadn’t betrayed us…I should have dealt with her back in Izumo—nipped it in the bud before it became a problem.” 

The atmosphere in the room grew heavier and Kotomi noticed tears welling in her little sister’s eyes once again. The young kunoichi quickly took Kara’s hand into her own and began to move towards the door, walking past her aunt and mother. 

“It’s late; I should be getting Kara to bed. Goodnight.” 

The girls had left the room before anyone had the chance to say anything in response. Now, only the adults remained. Kagero pursed her lips and blinked slowly before clearing her throat. 

“Ah…well, I know you just awoke, but it would be best to go to sleep now,” she said. She turned to Sakura and respectfully bowed. “Princess, I thank you once again for your help.” 

Hoshido’s youngest princess blushed before shaking her head rapidly. “Y-you don’t have to do that anymore, Kagero! You’re a princess too, you know. Five years and you still haven’t learned…” She sighed before looking to her brother and biting down on her tongue. His crimson eyes were still intense and focused while her own were soft and unguarded. “Corrin, I’ll be sure to stop by and check on you tomorrow, okay? Rest well.” 

Corrin’s eyes remained fixed on his lap. With her expression wavering, Sakura waved goodbye to Kagero and left the couple alone in their bedroom. The ninja sighed as she made her way over to the other side of the bed and sat down. 

“You know, it’s been quite a while since we’ve talked—just the two of us. You’ve been so busy with everything that you haven’t had the time…how’re things? I take it your meetings with Yukimura and the rest have been productive.”

“They’re going fine. We’re sending a small battalion through Vanaheim to advance on Asgard in Nohr. It’s an affluent area practically devoid of any military presence, so they shouldn’t have any trouble putting it under Hoshidan control. Once we’re secure there, I plan on personally marching through Muspelheim until we arrive in Helheim, and from there, Windmire. The closer we get to Castle Krakenburg, the more difficult of a time we’ll have…we’ll need all the firepower we can get.” The prince closed his eyes and leaned back on his pillow, his expression unchanging. “A smart king would turn tail from there, but I know Iago, and I know my sister. They’ll fight until the bitter end, meaning that they’ll be backed into a corner in the castle. Once that happens, I’ll put an end to them both myself and anyone that gets in my way, and then…this will all be over.”

Kagero’s mouth twitched in a small smile. “You truly do want to end this as soon as possible, don’t you? How noble.”

“Of course I do. The longer those two are in power, the more people die.” 

“Tell me, then, what about afterwards?” Kagero asked as she lied down and pulled the bed sheets over her body. “I know that you hold a vendetta against those two in particular, but—”

“It isn’t a vendetta,” Corrin sharply corrected. “It’s justice that I seek.”

“Right…be that as it may, there are still plenty of people to be dealt with after all is said and done. Nohr’s high general, for one. Hans is his name. Not to mention Prince Xander, Princess Camilla, Prince Leo, and Princess Elise…”

“Hans will die.” Corrin held his tongue between his teeth before continuing. “As for the rest…well, I wouldn’t be shocked if they met the same fate. If they come out alive, though, they’ll be stripped of their titles and imprisoned. The same goes for their children—two boys and a girl, I believe. That family’s tyranny over the country goes back for generations and I refuse to let it continue.”

Kagero slowly pulled the lamp string to cast the room into darkness and raised an eyebrow. “Strip them of power…? Then are we to install our own ruler in Iago’s place?”

“That’s what we intend, yes,” Corrin confirmed. 

“Do you have someone in mind? It’s best to plan these things out in advance.”

“I know,” Corrin responded with mild annoyance. “Yes, I’ve already decided. Under usual circumstances, Shiro would inherit the throne from his father once he passed away, but seeing as how he and Ryoma aren’t too far apart in age, that’s unlikely. Even if he were to take up the throne, it would be a short lived reign before he himself dies. A part of me wants to give that boy the kingdom he deserves…but there’s someone else.” He let out a deep breath as he pulled his bed covers further up his body. “Takumi. I know that as a child, he always wanted to become king—though of course that would mean that Ryoma would have to lack an heir as well as lose his life. Regardless, when I came along, I stole his position in the line for the throne. I want to make it up to him for that. Of course, the decision will ultimately fall on Ryoma, but I have no doubt in my mind that he’ll follow any suggestion I give in. He trusts me.” 

For a brief moment, Kagero was glad that her husband could not see the look on her face. Her brow was knit with concern and her lips pursed in skepticism. As someone who came from a clan that had been retainers to the Hoshidan royal family for generations, she had mixed feelings on the subject, but that sounded like blatant nepotism to her. If they were going to install their own monarch in Nohr, then shouldn’t it have been someone who had demonstrated an ability to lead effectively? She had half a mind to recommend Corrin himself for the position, though she figured that he must have wanted nothing to do with that country at this point. 

It was strange. Kagero understood in part the reason as to why, but recently, Corrin had not been himself. He had always been a gentle, warm, loving man, though his demeanor had seen a drastic change in the passing weeks. It all began when they had been informed that Nohr had razed one of their villagers. The news about Setsuna—rest her soul—had only made it worse. Things had reached their peak when Kamui rejected his proposal for a peace treaty, but…something had been bothering the ninja about that idea to begin with. 

“Corrin,” Kagero slowly began. “Ah…would you mind answering a question for me? It shouldn’t take very long.” 

Corrin smirked. “Of course I wouldn’t mind. There, question answered.” 

“Hah. I’ve been wondering—you’ve always said that you know your sister very well, yes? Kamui, that is.”

Corrin’s smile quickly faded. “Yes…”

“I have to wonder…I had little expectations that she would even consider the peace treaty you and Yukimura drafted, not to mention the fact that unlike yourself, she wasn’t in a position to make an official decision regarding such a thing. There are two people ranked above her, and—” 

“You’re going to ask me whether or not I truly believed that she would accept the treaty proposal, right?” Corrin guessed. “Frankly, I’m not quite sure myself. I know that she isn’t the highest ranking member of her army, but I held onto hope that she would at the very least consider passing it on to Hans or Iago. Of course, I also know that neither of them would ever think of ending a conflict as large as this one with peace. Regardless, I…I only wished to see if the woman I had at one time considered my sister still had a semblance of humanity left in her. When she rejected the treaty without so much as hearing me out, I knew that she was too far gone.”

The prince turned over and draped his arm across his wife, squeezing his eyelids shut even tighter. “To think that for years I told myself that she was still a good person—it makes me sick. I was so caught up in holding onto the bonds I had forged as a child that I lost sight of my justice. I directed my rage towards that bastard Garon instead of at the people who enabled him—Kamui, Xander, Camilla, Leo…even little Elise. It would be better for the world if every last one of them were to fall in battle. They’re nothing more than craven dogs of their king.” 

Kagero could feel Corrin’s body begin to tremble against her own, making her bite down on her lip. It was one thing to believe those things about the people with whom one grew up with, but to undergo such a drastic change of perspective in what was essentially no time at all…it worried her. Was there something else going on that she simply couldn’t see? 

The ninja silently swore at herself; this was partially her fault to begin with. Back when Corrin had informed her and their daughters of his plan to ambush the Nohrians, she had accepted without question. She was used to being at the back and call of Ryoma, doing what he asked of her without fuss or complaint, but at that time, she was acting not as a retainer, but as a warrior as well as a wife. In truth, she had expected things to go rather smoothly and end without any casualties. They would incapacitate the carriage driver, force the royals to surrender, and put an end to the war from there. She started to doubt things when the first action that her husband took was personally tearing the coach driver’s throat out without so much as a warning, but she couldn’t very well back out of the operation then, especially when everyone else—her children included—looked so determined to put an end to things right then and there. 

In truth, she was somewhat relieved when Kamui pulled the stunt that she did to allow her siblings to escape. Neither she nor Corrin had any idea how Lilith possessed such power to begin with, so they assumed it was an ability granted to her by her fully draconic bloodline. Kagero was relieved because after the showing her husband had given during the fight, she wasn’t sure just what sort of fate the Nohrians and Lilith would meet had they been defeated. Her concerns were only further justified by the fact that Corrin began to make arrangements for Kamui’s execution not ten minutes after he had her safely in custody. 

Kamui had been unconscious for the entire journey back to Shirasagi, which ran well into the night. The magic she had harnessed to protect her siblings on top of the wounds she had sustained had certainly drained her of every last ounce of energy she possessed, but Kagero was more concerned with the sheer amount of magical capability she seemed to possess within her. Not only did she not require a tome—a feat already supremely impressive for spellcasting of such a caliber—but the fact that she was able to conjure colossal, near impenetrable structures of ice was almost terrifying. Kagero had no doubt in her mind that the princess could have taken out several of them had she possessed the killing intent. If she were to further hone her magic, there was no telling what she was capable of.

Then, there was her husband. The thought of what would happen if someone as powerful as he went head-to-head with someone as powerful as Kamui at their full strength made her stomach drop; they would likely only come to destroy each other. Not only had she personally instructed him in the art of ninjutsu before she did the same with Kotomi, but his skill with the blade had only increased over the years due to rigorous training with Ryoma. That on top of his increasing aptitude for utilizing his dragon abilities made him a fearsome opponent to be meddled with. He held within him the potential to kill a man in a hundred different ways, and that was just with his bare hands. 

His hands…Kagero shuddered and took notice of the cold, scaled hand gently brushing across her bare back. Corrin had informed her that his arm had miraculously sprouted back in that state after one of Kamui’s saviors had severed it, something that made Kagero worry immensely. She did not know much about dragons aside from what little Azura and Lilith had told her over the years, and while it was true that her husband was a unique case, the fact that his arm grew back was concerning. She recalled one instance about four years ago when he had lost several fingers to a Nohrian swordsman due to a careless mistake. Azama had reattached them shortly after—albeit with some minor scarring—but they were still severed for several minutes before that. According to Corrin, his arm had regrown almost immediately. Kagero had to wonder if he was in the process of undergoing some kind of change due to his bloodline, but if that were the case, then—

“Kagero.” 

She tensed up briefly, but quickly relaxed upon realizing that she was being far too blatant in her reaction. “Sorry, sorry. Lost in thought. I’m tired—let’s just go to sleep.” 

Corrin nodded, his expression having long since relaxed. A small smile appeared on his face as he adjusted his body so as to be closer to his beloved wife. 

“Let’s. Good night, my love.” 

“Yes, good night.” 

And with that, one half of the pair slowly drifted off to sleep while the other was left staring at the wall, pondering the days to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a low-key chapter here, and that's going to be pretty much the same for the next chapter. Got to have a bit of a breather after such high-energy chapters like the last one, right? Don't worry, you'll get more action soon. As always, hoped you enjoyed!


	23. Out of Reach

There existed a particular wing of Castle Krakenburg that was loathed amongst its royal children. 

The rightmost wing of the castle was devoted entirely to diplomatic affairs, which naturally included matters regarding warfare. Xander had spent much of his days as a young adult and burgeoning soldier stuck listening to his father drone on and on about international affairs in the castle’s designated conference room, located at the peak of the rightmost spire. He had been joined by Camilla eventually, and a few years back, Kamui. Now, however, Kamui was alone. 

Her hands trembled as she stood before the shut double doors of the conference room. The last couple of days had brought forth her recovery from her time in Hoshidan captivity, but now that she was healthy again, she was immediately thrust back into work. She always dreaded coming into this room even if she was joined by her older siblings. It wasn’t anything to do with the room itself, but rather the people who always inhabited it. 

The young woman took a deep breath before placing one hand firmly on each door and pushing them in, stepping forth confidently into the room occupied mostly by a single large rectangular table fit with a dozen desks around its perimeter. At the head of the table sat the snake that had called her here, his legs crossed and his head resting on the surface formed by his interlocking fingers. All while she was growing up, Kamui hated that stupid golden mask that sat on his face and obscured his right eye. She always felt as if he were somehow mocking her behind that mask. However, now that his full visage was always visible and the ebony black crown of Nohr’s king sat atop his head, she found herself praying for the mask to make its return. 

“You’ve come. How lovely,” Iago droned, a smile creeping along his face. To his right sat Hans, his arms crossed and with a glare fixed on Kamui. The rest of the seats were filled with other members of Nohr’s war council, from its Archmage to its Minister of Morale, a role which Kamui felt should have been renamed to “Minister of Propaganda”. 

“You summoned me. I’m obligated to.” Kamui closed the doors behind her before stepping forward and sitting down in the only empty chair, the one directly across from the king at the other end of the table. “What was it that you wished to speak to me about?” 

Iago set his hands on the wood and sat up straight. “Come now, don’t play the fool. What, did you expect me to not receive the news when all of Hoshido was talking about it in the days leading up to your scheduled execution? Do you take me for an imbecile?” 

Kamui wanted to tell it to him straight, but he continued before she could open her mouth. “You were captured en route back from a meeting in Izumo that I was not informed of, then rescued by a small group of your soldiers—one of whom was seized and promptly executed—in an operation that I _ also _ was not informed of. Tell me, Kamui, what am I to this country?” 

This time, Iago expected an answer. Kamui gripped the hem of her blouse and bit her tongue. 

“…Its king, sir.”

“Yes, and what are you?”

“A princess as well as second in command to the imperial army.” 

“Right, which means you rank below me in two aspects. So then, tell me, why was I kept in the dark about all of this until the other day? Why did I have to learn about it via an advisor and not with my own ears?” 

Kamui closed her eyes. She couldn’t lose her cool, no. Not with Iago. She always had to tread lightly with him lest her punishment be swift and harsh. 

“We…I didn’t deem it necessary,” she explained as she pressed her lips together. “I figured that a minor meeting in a foreign nation wouldn’t be of any concern to you. It was a family matter, after all. As for the rescue—”

“_ Family matter? _ ” the snake repeated with venom in his voice. “Certainly you’ve realized by now that in your position, there is no such thing as a purely _ family matter _. Everything you do regarding those Hoshidans reflect back on Nohr, and as a result, on me. Had you informed me of this meeting to begin with, you wouldn’t have gotten captured and your soldier would still be alive. She was Camilla’s retainer, yes? A valuable asset lost due to your own stupidity. What say you to that?” 

“I didn’t expect them to attack us,” Kamui retorted, becoming slightly defensive. “Izumo is a peaceful country and warfare is outlawed there; to attack us on the way back would be to go against everything that Hoshido’s culture and traditions regarding war—”

“You expected the enemy to play by the rules? How amateur.” Iago sneered and leaned his head against his fist. “You realize these people want to kill you, yes? What you discussed during the dinner itself I don’t care to know, but you were a fool to attend without additional forces.” 

Kamui opened her eyes and leaned forward over the table as her face began to redden. “The letter instructed us to come alone—” 

“And you obeyed? What kind of strategist are you?”

“STOP INTERRUPTING ME!” 

At that moment, she wished she could turn back the hands of time just a few moments so that she could find it within herself to hold her tongue. She knew immediately that she had made a grave mistake that would not go unpunished. 

Hans slammed his fist into the table and screamed. “You’d best watch your tongue lest you lose it, girl! How dare you raise your voice at the king?!” 

To Kamui’s surprise, Iago stopped him from continuing with a simple raise of his hand and a smirk. “Peace, Hans. Kamui, Kamui, Kamui. You should know better than to shout at me. With a word, I could have you and your siblings thrown in prison or worse.”

The princess felt the blood drain from her face as she leaned back in her chair, her heart pounding in her chest and her hands clamming up. “I—I’m sorry, your majesty. I forgot my place.” 

“Oh, don’t apologize.” Iago set her hands on the table and leaned in with a smile which sent a chill down Kamui’s back. “I _ like _that side of you, Kamui. The feisty, hot-blooded princess…I must admit, I’ve grown rather bored of your passive subserviency over the years. It’s a bad look for you. You, my dear, are a feral dragon that cannot be tamed. Don’t let me hold you back.” 

Kamui felt her eye twitch; surely he was not being serious. For years she had received constant reminders from the man himself to not defy him in any way, and now that she had, he was praising her? What kind of game was he playing here? 

“Um…I’m not quite sure what to say, sir.” 

“You don’t have to say a thing, darling.” Iago smirked and crossed his legs as he straightened his back. “Now, back to the matter at hand. I was initially going to administer consequences for your failure to adhere to basic courtesy, however, I’m feeling generous today. I’ll let you off with a warning just this once.”

Murmurs began to sound from the various other men at the table. Evidently they were not expecting such a display of mercy from a man like Iago, and neither was Kamui herself. Iago was a far crueler man than her father had been in his later years, so why was he acting like this out of nowhere? Something had to have been amiss. Nevertheless, Kamui did not wish to test her luck once again, and so she simply nodded at the man. 

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate this.” 

“As you should.” The king waved his hand lazily. “You’re dismissed. We have other business to attend to that you are not required to be here for.” 

Kamui began to stand at once, locking eyes with Hans as she bowed to Iago and pushed her chair in. She knew how much the maniac wanted to wring her neck, but she also knew that she was untouchable. Iago may have been evil, but he would never allow such a blatant assault on a princess to take place without reason. She felt a smug sense of satisfaction and threw a condescending smirk towards Hans, making his scowl deepen even further. 

“A good day to all of you,” she said before the council began to talk amongst themselves about something or other and she turned her back on them, stepping forward and exiting through the double doors. She felt a sense of relief wash over her. She had been expecting a long reprimanding and harsh punishment, but instead all she received was a brief scolding and a slap on the wrist. It was a miracle, really, and she found herself putting her hand over her heart as the doors shut behind her. 

“You weren’t in there as long as I expected you to be.” 

Kamui yelped and immediately reached for her sword, but quickly stopped herself when she saw just who it was. “Shigure!” she said in a hushed yell. “What are you doing here?! You’re supposed to be staying out of sight!” 

The young man’s usual soft smile was nowhere to be found; he did not seem to be in an upbeat mood. “Needed to find you. Camilla told us you’d been summoned to the council room. I volunteered to retrieve you.”

“Needed to find me? What, do you need something?” 

Shigure grimaced, his eyes growing dark. “Not really, no. It’s just…Lilith was checking out the area around our base in the Astral Plane just in case. She figured that now that she’s an official enemy of Hoshido and Corrin knows where we’re located in that dimension apparently, he may try and pull something. She ah…she found something at the base of your treehouse. A box of some sort. We don’t know what it is or where it came from, and we didn’t want to do anything while you weren’t there.” 

Kamui made up her face in confusion. A box? In the Astral Plane? She was rather puzzled, but rather than question Shigure directly outside the room in which the king sat, she thought it best to see it for herself. 

“I’m not quite sure I’m following you, but alright, let’s see what this is all about.” She turned her body so that she was facing the end of the hall before tracing a circle in the air with her hands and opening the doorway to the Astral Plane. She recalled a time when doing such a thing often took several attempts, but now, it came naturally to her. “After you.” 

Shigure nodded and ducked through the hole in reality, Kamui following closely behind him and closing the portal when she stepped foot on the lush green grass of the Astral Plane. Unlike the stuffy atmosphere that most of Castle Krakenburg possessed, the air of the Astral Plane was fresh and revitalized Kamui’s energy, despite the reason she had been called there in the first place. This place always served as a sort of sanctuary for her, after all. 

She and Shigure had entered the dimension not far from her treehouse. In fact, she could make out the shapes of several of her siblings close by. She smiled, though Shigure kept an uneasy frown as they began to make their way towards the group. 

Those present were Camilla, Leo, Elise, Lilith, and Selena. The girls all glanced back at the approaching pair to greet them while the young mage’s eyes stayed fixed on the wooden box lying in the grass. It was rectangular in shape and measured about five feet in length, the material having been seemingly unpolished lumber. It was as if someone had taken it directly from a large tree and haphazardly fashioned it into a makeshift container. 

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Kamui greeted, stopping only a few feet before the mysterious box. “How long has this been here?” 

“I found it around a half hour ago, but it’s damp with dew. It’s presumably been here since last night at the latest,” Lilith answered. Her recovery had come several days before Kamui was up on her feet again, unsurprisingly. While Kamui had taken a blade to the shoulder, used up every bit of magical energy she held within her all at once, and gone malnourished for several days, Lilith had only taken a naginata through the stomach and knocked herself out by using her own powers. It was nothing to scoff at, of course, but thanks to the efforts of Elise as well as Jakob combined with her natural draconic resilience, she was back to normal in practically no time. Physically, at least. Her usual chipper demeanor had diminished thanks to having to directly fight against someone she loved as much as Corrin, but she refused to let it show too much. 

Selena crossed her arms and stared at the box with skeptical eyes. “Suspicious…where do you think it came from…? It couldn’t very well have just _ appeared _ here.” 

“You know where it came from,” Leo said under his breath. “And I have an inkling as to what it could contain…be wary when approaching it.” 

“Who’s doing it?” Camilla asked with her fist to her mouth in concern. “If it’s some sort of explosive, then maybe Leo could cast a spell to protect us all?” 

Leo shook his head. “No need. I…I’ll open it.” He balled his fists and took a step forward before Elise worriedly took his arm. 

“Wait, are we sure it’s safe? If Corrin would ambush us when we weren’t ready, then don’t you think he’d set up something to hurt us all, too? Maybe Camilla is right; it could be an explosive.” 

“It’s just a box, Elise. Don’t worry. I don’t sense anything arcane from it, and I know that you three don’t, either,” he said as he looked to each of his sisters. “Look, the only way we’re going to find out what’s in it is if we open it, and there’s no point in wasting any time. It’s best if we just get it over with.” 

Pouting, Elise reluctantly released her brother’s arm and allowed him to continue to step towards the object in question. He knelt down to inspect it, noticing that there were a pair of hinges on one side that connected the lid to the box itself. 

Kamui shuddered. “It…it reminds me of a coffin.” 

“Because it is one,” Lilith muttered, quietly enough so that no one could hear. She looked to Kamui with vulnerable eyes and slowly took the princess’ hand into her own, squeezing it as Leo got his fingertips underneath the lid and glanced back at everyone. 

The prince returned his attention to the object before him and took a deep breath. Steeling his nerves, he grit his teeth and with a grunt threw open the covering of the coffin, unveiling exactly what was within. 

Never before had anyone heard Camilla scream so loudly.

* * *

“I’ll kill him myself if I have to.” 

Despite the gentle hand tenderly stroking Camilla’s back and her own pained expression, Selena’s voice possessed a venomous edge to it. The older princess sat against the thick trunk of Kamui’s treehouse with her knees against her chest and her face held within her hands, her remaining retainer on one side and her little sisters on the other. Lilith, Leo, and Shigure had made their way over to the cottage in which Beruka had once resided, having resigned themselves to burial duty. They had asked if Camilla wished to accompany them, but she was sobbing too much to give a proper response. 

The princess had calmed down quite a bit by this point. She slowly lowered her hands from her face and revealed her damp and reddened face as well as her bloodshot eyes. Camilla rubbed at her bright red nose before staring at the grass. 

“It’s as if…I have to go through it all over again,” Camilla explained in a whimper. “I thought that I had processed everything, but seeing her body up close like that…” Her voice broke on the final syllable and she had to choke back oncoming sobs, making her youngest sister pull her into a hug from the side.

“We’re here for you, Big Sis. Anything you have to say, you can tell us.” Elise offered comforting words to her sibling and squeezed her even tighter, resting her head on Camilla’s shoulder. The people around her were impressed at her growth over the years, having gone from a childish little girl to an empathetic and mature young woman. 

Kamui’s gaze remained fixed on her own hands resting in her lap. Each of the women possessed a different expression on their faces—Selena rage, Camilla sorrow, Elise compassion, and Kamui sheer despair. Her eyes seemed to have darkened and the color had left her face. 

“Gods, what the hell is the matter with him?!” Selena shouted, slamming her fist into the dirt. “What kind of person does this kind of thing?! And to his own sister! Why would he even do this?” 

“Because he thinks we deserve it,” Kamui mumbled, her lips barely moving. “He wants to hurt us and he knows how to do it. It’s an attempt to kill morale.” 

Selena’s face twisted in confusion. “Deserve it? For what?! What have we done to him?”

“Everything. His parents are dead, as is his best friend, and his brother’s wife. He’s out for revenge.” 

The lack of emotion in Kamui’s voice sent goosebumps crawling across Elise’s skin, but her attention was more focused on Selena’s speech than her sister’s tone. “That…that isn’t on us. Those things just happen in war.” 

“No,” Kamui corrected. “I killed his friend with my own hands. Mother…she died because she accepted us. It was Corrin’s sword that caused the explosion, and Father gave it to him. We supported Garon. Ryoma’s wife died during the Cheve siege. I led that attack. We all fought in it. Their blood is on our hands.” 

“That isn’t an excuse to drop a dead body on us like that, especially of one of our friends.” 

Elise turned her attention to Kamui with a frown. “Hey, are you okay? You don’t sound so good. I know that it’s to be expected, but…you’re worrying me.”

“None of this would have happened if I’d just gone with Corrin back at the border. It’s my fault,” Kamui asserted, completely ignoring her little sister’s question. 

“What? No! Then…then you wouldn’t be with us,” Elise began. “You never would have reconnected with Silas or had Kana and Sophie, you never would have become friends with Peri and Laslow, and…well, you wouldn’t be the person you are today. You’d be an entirely different Kamui.” 

Kamui blinked. “And all those people would still be alive.” 

Biting her tongue, Elise’s heart began to beat slightly faster. Kamui had always been like this—prone to bouts of depression at the smallest trigger, but this was a particularly bad instance. Elise had never taken issue with playing counselor for any one of her siblings, though these were different circumstances. Even after Kamui was recovered from her imprisonment, the siblings had barely spoken a word to Xander. Elise now had to comfort both of her sisters over different feelings, which would certainly be a difficult task. 

“You don’t know that. For all anyone knows, if you had sided with Ryoma and the rest, then maybe everyone you know now would be dead. I know it hurt Corrin to leave us all like he did, and…well, surely you could never do that, right? Isn’t that why you stayed in the first place?” 

Kamui’s eyes seemed to darken. “But the war would have ended years ago. All I did was balance the scales and prolong the fighting. A countless number of people have died because of me. If—” 

Suddenly, Selena let out a loud grown and pulled at her pigtails, gritting her teeth. “_ If if if, _ it’s always ‘ _ if’ _with you! What part of ‘you can’t change the past’ don’t you understand? Gods, stop moping around over a split-second decision you made years ago and just get over it!” 

With a knit brow, Camilla looked up at her retainer, who had suddenly risen to her feet and balled her fists. “Selena…” 

“Look, if you made a mistake, then it is way, _ way _too late to be all regretful now. You made your choice, things happened the way they did, and now all there is to do is live with it. If you want to throw away everything we’ve all worked for and toss yourself into a Hoshidan guillotine then that’s one thing, but don’t you dare think for a second that we’re just going to let you do it. Beruka gave her LIFE so that you could go on fighting, so don’t go feeling sorry for yourself now!”

Elise pursed her lips. “Selena, I don’t think that this is really the best way to—”

“I don’t care! I’m absolutely sick of her thinking that she’s the only one with weight on her shoulders—that she’s the only one who’s lost something here! What, you don’t think I WANT this war to be over as soon as possible? Hell, I’m probably the one who wants that the most! I’m just not so naive as to think that one decision would have made a huge difference.” Selena knelt down to Kamui’s eye level and jabbed her finger into the woman’s forehead. “You want to know what probably would have gone down if you hadn’t been around after the Shirasagi attack? Silas would have stayed a member of the Nohrian Knights and likely died under their half-assed command. Mozu would have had to become a beggar in Windmire, and we all know how the people there treat outsiders. Iago would have had full reign to control your dad however he wanted and would’ve razed village after village mindlessly, not caring who died in the process. Not to mention giving Hans even more control over the army. Xander, Elise, Leo and Camilla all would have been puppeted around however they saw fit, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they wouldn’t have made it to today.”

A twinge of pain appeared on Kamui’s face as she half-closed her eyes in a grimace. “But…”

“No! No buts! Look, you’re supposed to be our leader, yeah? Well, what do you expect the rest of us to do if the person we’re meant to follow is constantly crying over spilled milk instead of giving us direction?” Selena sighed and closed her eyes, massaging her temples. “Listen, Kamui. I’m not trying to berate you here. Believe me, I understand the feeling of regret over a major decision, but it’s insulting to every last one of us when you say stuff like you wish you would have chosen them over us. Not only that, but…it hurts. It makes it seem like you wish you never would have met any of us or had abandoned your brothers and sisters to fight without you. They already lost one twin. How do you think they’d feel if they lost another?” 

As Camilla rubbed her damp eyes, the color began to return to Kamui’s own as she slowly raised her head. Selena continued. 

“I know that I’m rambling here, and I’m sorry, but damn it, it pisses me off seeing you like this all the time! You’re surrounded by people that love you and all you can do is lament over the past! What happened happened, and as much as it sucks, there’s no going back to change that in this world. Every moment you spend living in regret is a moment that people are out there fighting—fighting and dying. You made a vow to win this war and get that bastard Iago on the throne so that this can finally be over with. So get off of your ass and fight.” 

For a while, Kamui appeared to be absolutely dumbfounded by Selena’s sudden rant. Sweat rolled down Elise’s face as she anticipated her sister’s response. To the girl’s surprise, instead of more tears or a red-faced rage, she was met with an exasperated heavy exhale.

“You’re right,” the princess said as she planted her feet firmly on the ground and rose to her feet. “In the past, I would hide my emotions from everyone. Lately, I’ve worn them on my sleeve a little too much. Peri always tells me, but I never listen…” She sighed and balled her fists as she shook her head. “It’s OK to feel depressed or sad or anything else, but I can’t let it control me. I’ve got a responsibility to fulfill, and damn it, I’m going to work towards making the reality I want come to fruition.” 

Kamui slapped her own cheeks with her hands several times before hopping and giving a hearty “whoo!”. “I _ will _ defeat Hoshido! Then, I’ll handle Iago and Hans, too! And after that…I’ll bring Corrin back to us.” She grit her teeth and held her fist over her heart. “I’ll make us a family again. All of us. Ryoma, Sakura, Takumi and Hinoka. I’ll finally be their sister in the familial sense of the word…” Finally, she looked to the blue sky overhead and shouted to the heavens. “I’ll do everything in my power to bring both kingdoms back into prosperity when this gods-forsaken war is over and done with, I swear! I am Princess Commander Kamui of Nohr, damn it, and nothing is going to stop me from turning my dream into reality!!!” 

A wide smile twitched onto Camilla’s face as she too stood up with Elise, extending her arms towards her beloved little princess. “My my, your confidence is infectious. I must say, I’m feeling rather revitalized as well. You’ll have to forgive me for my earlier state—it was rather uncharacteristic of me.” 

“Don’t apologize for being sad, Big Sis! Come on, didn’t you just hear what Kamui said?” Elise asked with a giggle. Shortly after, the quartet was joined by the three who had gone off earlier. Shigure dusted the dirt from his hands as he approached. 

“Well, I don’t know what happened, but you all certainly seem to be in higher spirits. I’m glad.” 

Leo nodded in affirmation. “I always hate seeing you all in low spirits, so this is a welcome development. I can only imagine that Elise offered some words of healing?” 

“Selena, actually,” Camilla corrected, prompting her retainer’s face to take on a deep red hue. “It wasn’t even her tender side this time, but rather her icy one. Surprising, isn’t it?”

“H-hey! You don’t have to tell them all that!” 

Lilith lightly cleared her throat before raising her hand. “Um…she’s buried right behind her old cottage. I made a headstone for her, in case anyone wants to visit.” The dragon awkwardly pressed her lips together and kicked at the dirt. “Should we return to the castle now? I’m not sure if anyone has anything they have to do today, so we could just stay here for a little bit.” 

“I have work to do,” Kamui told her as she brought forth a portal back to the material plane. “I want all of you to help me start with this, okay? Come with me.” 

One by one the group funneled through the golden doorway, Kamui being the last one remaining. With a satisfied smile, she let out a soft breath and put her hand over her heart before stepping forward and closing the door behind her. Meanwhile, her brother watched with a deep scowl. 

“Pathetic,” Corrin spat as he stood perched on a thick branch high up in the tree that held Kamui’s own cottage. He donned his usual armor, though the abdominal piece had been exchanged for white bandages wrapped around his body. He winced as he rose to his feet and spread his wings, the pain in his back flaring up. 

He had gone through all of that trouble…from retrieving that girl’s corpse from Shirasagi’s morgue to crafting the container, not to mention lugging it to where it would be easily spotted. All that just for his efforts to amount to nothing. It made his blood boil seeing Kamui go on and on about defeating him and reuniting their “family”. What did she know of righteousness? What did she know about _ justice _? He wanted to swoop down and shove the Noble Yato right through her skull, though he had little confidence that he would be able to escape given their numbers and his current state. Even if they were all unarmed, Camilla—like Kamui—had long since surpassed the need for tomes in her usage of magic. All it would take was one snap of her fingers and Corrin would go up in flames. 

While Kamui’s speech enraged him to no end, what seemed to eat away at his mind was what Selena had said. Corrin barely knew who she was, truthfully. He harkened back to the battle at Cheve where they had crossed blades briefly, but aside from that, all he knew was that she was Camilla’s remaining retainer. Despite this, the things she said made the man want to wring her neck. She knew nothing of what could have been. Surely if Kamui had sided with him to begin with, the scales would have been tipped in Hoshido’s favor and the war would have ended in no time. Only then could they have been a family once again…right? 

Corrin pushed the thought out of his mind—that didn’t matter right now. She was right about one thing: What was done was done, and there was no changing the past. The Assassin Prince manifested his own portal slightly below him before stepping off of the branch and falling through it, his shoes making contact with wood shortly after. As he closed the portal, he soon noticed that he was not alone. 

He whipped his head around only to find none other than his younger brother leaning against the wall of his bedroom, his arms crossed and an inquisitive look on his face. “Was wondering when you’d get back.” 

“What are you doing here?” Corrin asked sharply as he took a step forward. “I don’t like it when people are in my room without my knowledge. It’s invasive.” 

“How was I supposed to know that? Kara didn’t tell me anything of the sort,” Takumi said, rolling his eyes. “Look, I wanted to talk to you about something in private and we only ever see each other in the castle. I figured showing up to your house was my best bet to get a one-on-one conversation. Sit.” 

While he was annoyed that he was being given orders in his own home, Corrin was not in the mood to argue with someone as stubborn as Takumi. As such, he reluctantly sat down on the edge of his bed while his brother pulled up a nearby chair and made himself comfortable, crossing his arms once more. 

“What were you doing in the Astral Plane?” the young prince inquired.

“That isn’t what you’re here for; get to the point.” 

Takumi shrugged. “Fair. Look, I wanted to ask you if you were doing okay. Like, mentally,” he began. Though he could see the anger already on Corrin’s face, he continued. “I know things have been heavy for you recently. Setsuna dying, Kamui rejecting the peace treaty proposal, Kamui escaping…I’ve been talking with Ryoma and our sisters, and don’t tell them I told you this, but we’re all kind of worried about you.” 

“Tch. You? Worried about me? That’s new. Since when have you ever cared about me?” 

With a frown, Takumi adjusted himself in his seat. “Look, I know I was a bit dense when I was younger, but that was a long time ago. Just because I’m harsh on you doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you. You’re my brother—of course I do.” He held up his hands and smiled. “See? I’m even relaxed now. All I want from you is an honest answer.”

“Fine then. To answer your question, I’m perfectly fine.” Corrin abruptly stood up and began to remove his armor, starting with the bracers. “What, do you think that because I’m not some pushover weakling anymore that there must be something wrong with me?” 

“Cool it with the accusations; I’m not here to argue with you. It’s just…look, we think that recently, you’ve gotten a lot colder towards everyone around you. You’re not as bright or friendly. I liked that about you, you know? Between you, me, and Ryoma, you were the ‘good boy’.” 

“If by that you mean the failure, then you’d be correct. That Corrin is dead.” The prince unstrapped his greaves and kicked them off before moving onto his cuirass. “It baffles me why you’d all become concerned for me only after I start making efforts towards what I want. Don’t you want to end this war, too? And last I checked, each of you went along with my ambush proposal without complaint. What, are you having second thoughts? Think I’m being too aggressive? I’m just doing what a leader should and making the decisions that have to be made!” 

“Corrin,” Takumi said firmly, leaning in and narrowing his eyes. “Relax. Of course I want to win the war—we all do—we’re just worried about you. It’s one thing for someone to change over the course of months or even weeks, but…you just snapped. Right after the Nohrians left back in Izumo, it’s like something in you changed.” 

“Of course it did!” Corrin barked back as he roughly pulled his cuirass from his body. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to offer your hand to someone you loved, that you _ believed _ in, only to have them spit in your face like you were nothing?! Every last one of those wretched villains would rather keep to their twisted sense of bonds than keep innocent people from dying! I suppose pillaging and razing is all fine as long as you’re doing it together! For five **fucking** years I kept telling myself that maybe things would work out—that maybe we could all come together in the future on look back on all this as just a silly mistake, but no. I am a fool no longer…they have to pay. They have to pay with their lives.” 

All was silent. When Takumi’s eyes began to widen, Corrin’s own thinned. “What?” he demanded. 

His brother slowly raised his finger in shock, pointing directly towards Corrin himself. “Your body…” 

Corrin bit down on the inside of his cheek. He had a feeling he knew what Takumi was pointing out. Gritting his teeth, he held out his scale-clad arm and looked down. Sure enough, it along with the rest of his body was covered in a deep purple mist-like energy. He squeezed his fist shut before returning it to his side. 

“It’s nothing,” he breathed, though he knew he was lying. “Forget about it.” 

“Forget about it? Absolutely not! What is that?!” Takumi shot up to his feet and quickly closed the distance between him and his brother, grabbing Corrin’s arm and holding it up. Not long after making contact, he drew in a sharp breath and pulled his arm away, flashing the pain from his hand. It seemed as if the energy had harmed him. “This is the same…it’s the same as when you all found me back in Mokushu. There’s something wrong with you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Corrin rejected, abruptly pulling his arm back and scowling at the shorter man.

Takumi began to tap his foot rapidly on the floor and scratched at his head in thought. “What did you do to fix me…right. Right!” He took a step back as well as a deep breath before beginning. “_ You are the ocean’s gray waves—” _

“It doesn’t work like that!” The Assassin Prince shoved his little brother backwards, making him stumble and nearly fall on his back. “You don’t know what you’re doing, so stop trying! You’re making a fool of yourself!” 

“I’m only trying to help!” Takumi shouted back, balling his fists. “You’re the one that sang for me, so you have to know how it works! Tell me! Tell me how to fix you!!!

“**_Y_****_OU CAN’T!_ **”

Corrin’s booming voice seemed to shake the room itself, the sheer force that emanated from his very being in that moment sending Takumi falling down to the floor and causing the furniture around the room to rumble, including a framed photograph of Kagero and Corrin that fell from the wall and landed with a shatter. He panted as he gazed down on the fallen form of the man who had once resented him, but now he only seemed…afraid.

The young man knew that in his heart, Takumi was right. If he had either Azura or Shigure’s pendant and were to channel the song’s power through the jewel, Corrin would be healed at least temporarily, but what Takumi didn’t know was what doing so would take from him. Corrin had felt as if he were going to die back when he used the song on Takumi all those years ago and he would never wish that on his little brother. Regardless, he didn’t need to be healed in the first place. He was perfectly fine. 

Takumi stared up at the man with horror on his face, shaking his head as he pushed himself to his feet. “I’m going to get Azura.”

“Tch. Do what you will,” Corrin said as he turned his back on him. “Maybe you can join her in her endeavor to _ help _ me. What more could another betrayal do? I’ve already suffered so many.” 

After a moment of silence, Takumi found tears welling in his eyes that he quickly blinked away. Corrin may not have been looking, but he refused to let the gods lay their eyes upon his pain. Instead, he silently stepped towards the door and tightly gripped the handle, forcing himself not to give a final look to his brother before leaving him by himself. 

When she saw Takumi’s foot move past the door frame, Kara quickly flattened herself against the wall, careful not to make a noise. Her eyes remained trained on her uncle as he grit his teeth and pressed onwards towards the home’s front door. Kara allowed herself to relax once he disappeared down the hallway and placed her small hand on her chest with a relieved sigh. She had a feeling that her father wouldn’t be leaving his study so soon after what had just happened.

The little girl grimaced, for she had been eavesdropping on the entire conversation, having been made curious by her uncle’s sudden appearance at her house despite Corrin’s absence. As much as she loathed to admit it, Takumi was right. Her Father _ had _ been acting different these past few weeks. She wasn’t entirely sure why, but up until this point, she hadn’t questioned it. It was her father, after all. Prince Corrin of Hoshido, the revered Assassin Prince and commander of the great Hoshidan Army. Not to mention, her Papa. There couldn’t possibly be anything wrong with him…right? 

Kara sighed as her back slid against the wall. She knew what everyone thought of her, but she wasn’t as naive as people made her out to be. Even she could tell when something was wrong, especially when it came to her family. She truly did wish to help her father, but if his brother and apparently Azura had tried without success, then what good could she possibly do? Gods, she hated feeling helpless. 

This sucked. This entire situation simply _ sucked _. Lilith had betrayed them in favor of helping the bad guys, they came so close to victory only to have it slip from their grasp, and now Corrin was refusing to let his loved ones help him through all of it. At this point, Kara doubted that even Kagero could do anything. Corrin had truly closed himself off to the world.

The young dragon racked her mind for what to do, but only found her head hurting after a while. Any idea her brain could muster up was immediately shot down by a sudden realization as to why it wouldn’t work. Gods, she felt so stupid. 

“Fine then…” she whispered to herself, standing up straight with a look of determination on her face. “If he won’t let anyone help him directly, then…I’ll just have to do my best to make sure we win this thing!” 

Kara grinned as she began bounding off towards her bedroom on the second floor, the place in which her favorite sword was. It was useless trying to defy her father, so why not simply comply with his desires instead? Surely if Hoshido were to be victorious, then he would return to his normal self in no time at all and Kara would have her Papa back. Of course, she had already planned on winning the war no problem because that was what a good guy would do, but now that her Papa’s happiness was on the line? All bets were off. There was no ifs, ands, or buts about it—they absolutely _ had _ to beat the bad guys. For Papa. 

She retrieved her sword and promptly made her way to her bedroom window, sliding the glass to the side as well as the mesh screen and placing a foot on the frame before pushing her body completely into it. Kara grunted as her eyes glinted for a moment and two small wings sprouted from her back—she was never as good as her Papa when it came to harnessing her draconic abilities while maintaining a human form. It was fine, though, since the nearest training ground was merely a hop, skip, and a jump away from her quaint little house on a hill. 

“Don’t worry, Papa! I’ll make sure that we crush those stupid bad guys, and then, you can be happy again!” Kara said to herself with a confident grin. Then, she pushed off of the home’s exterior wall with her wings spread straight, gliding through the air towards her progress as a fighter, and as a daughter with her sword in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, a chapter with almost no scene breaks at all. Of course, that means that it has to be a shorter one :p for those of you hoping that things will pick up in terms of speed soon, fear not, for that'll come with the next chapter. On that note, I hope you enjoyed, leave a comment with your thoughts, and have a good one!


	24. Let it Flow

One week. 

For seven whole days, Kamui had been meticulously working on her plans for the remainder of the war. From the moment she woke to the instant she slept, her mind was filled with maps, battle strategies, territories and protocols. She had been so hard at work that she had drawn the concern of her entire family, though Silas assured them that she was fine. 

“She gets like this sometimes,” he had said. “She’ll put her mind to something and won’t put it off until it’s done. She’s a hard worker, that’s for sure.” 

Most of the days, she had been assisted by someone close to her. It had been Leo on the second, Camilla on the fourth, Siegbert on the fifth and now Peri on the seventh. The once-childish woman traced her fingers along a map of the continent with focused eyes. 

“So on the eighth day, we’ll be stationed in Notre Sagesse after moving through Cyrkensia. Before we head out, we leave behind a decently sized squad of soldiers to protect them in case any Hoshidans make it past us and try to occupy the place. From there, we advance to Vanaheim…”

As Peri spoke, Kamui found herself staring at the woman’s face with a tired yet blissful expression. She was glad that she had overcome her insecurities regarding her sexuality ages ago, or else she’d never be able to do something like this without drowning in immense shame. 

“Kamui? Hey, are you listening?” Peri snapped her fingers twice to regain Kamui’s attention, though instead of shooting up and apologizing like she expected, the princess simply nodded her head to indicate that she was still mentally present. 

“You know, sometimes I wonder how things would be had I not freaked out back when we went on that date.” 

Peri thinned her eyes in confusion, taking a moment to figure out just what she was talking about before remembering and giving Kamui a cheeky smile. “Oh yeah, I remember that. We went to see that play and I cried on your shoulder. It’s funny, I can’t even remember what it was about at this point.” 

“Do you ever think about the same thing, though?” Kamui asked. “We never would have been able to get married, for starters, since we’re both women. Kana, Sophie, and Soleil wouldn’t be around. I can’t even begin to imagine where Laslow and Silas would be without us…it’s strange how we just don’t know what could have been, isn’t it?” 

Peri nodded in affirmation as she leaned back in her chair. “It is. Really, I don’t know if I would have mellowed out if it hadn’t been for Laslow. He…kind of changed me, in that way.” She found herself groaning and covering her face as her cheeks took on a red tint. “Gods, I was so weird when I was younger! I know I couldn’t help it, but it’s embarrassing to think back on. No wonder you didn’t like me back. Only someone as crazy as Laslow would fall in love with a murder-happy girl who couldn’t tell right from wrong.” 

Kamui scoffed. “No no, that wasn’t it. It was more that I wasn’t in the right place at the time to handle someone as eccentric as you,” she explained with a snicker. “Laslow…he’s been through more than either of us, even back then, so I’m not surprised that he was able to help you through things. He’s a good man.”

The other woman opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a knock coming from the room’s front door. Kamui raised her eyebrow in curiosity; no was scheduled to be using the conference room at the moment. She exchanged an inquisitive look with Peri before glancing back at the door. 

“Enter!” 

Not a second later, her dearest Jakob entered the room with his blue-haired son by his side, both men sharing dark expressions. Jakob held within his hand an important looking document whilst Dwyer possessed a letter sealed with wax. 

“Xander told us that you both would be here…” Dwyer mumbled as he approached the table while his father closed the door behind him, grimacing the whole way. 

“Yes, we’re working on battle plans…” Kamui kept her eyes on the envelope in Dwyer’s hands as her heart began to pound. Judging by the look on his face, all was not well. “Was there something you needed from us?” 

Jakob sighed, biting his lip and turning around to face his liege. “I was told to give this to Iago first and foremost, but by my own judgement, you are better off being the first to learn about it.” He cleared his throat and held the document before him, beginning to read. “King Iago, I, Baroness Lieve’tel, am writing to inform you that on the first day of the ninth month, the territory of Asgard was invaded by and subsequently taken over by Hoshidan forces. Due to our small military force, we were unable to defend ourselves. I beg of you your forgiveness and humbly request that you utilize your immense power to liberate my people and I from our adversaries. Many of my subjects have been killed, and as such, and I have very little allies at this time. I am in hiding at the moment and suspect that I will be found and captured shortly. I can only hope that this letter reaches you before I am too late.” Jakob pressed his lips together before finishing. “From, Astrid von Lieve’tel, Baroness of Asgard.”

Kamui was in such shock that she didn't even notice how tightly Peri was squeezing her hand. The princess blinked. Under usual circumstances she would have begun to hyperventilate or lose her focus, but even as the color drained from her face, she refused to give in. No, this was a new Kamui. 

“Okay…” she breathed, tapping her fingertips along the edge of the table. “So, Corrin attacked far earlier than planned. I hadn’t anticipated action so soon, especially when Princess Hinoka is still without a second retainer, but this is fine. We can handle this.” 

“I’m afraid that you’ll have to discuss this with Iago and Hans before you can take any sort of action, however, this is another matter at hand.” Jakob turned to his son with a deep frown. “Dwyer.” 

The young man shook his head sorrowfully and weakly extended the letter not to Kamui, but to Peri. The woman’s eyes widened when she realized that he wasn’t here for Kamui and she snatched the letter out of his hand at once, beginning to tear the envelope open not a moment later as Dwyer drew in a shaky breath. 

“I know we don’t know each other well, but…I am so,  _ so _ sorry, Ms. Peri.” 

Kamui watched as Peri paid the boy no mind, frantically unfolded the letter and began to read. Kamui started to read as well, but stopped herself after the first few words. 

Now, she was filled with dread.

As a child, she had witnessed countless couriers read off those exact words to her father, kneeling before him in Castle Krakenburg’s throne room.  _ To whom it may concern, we offer our condolences and regret to inform you of the passing of…  _

Peri’s bright eyes widened as they began to fill with tears, a sight that shattered Kamui’s heart a thousand times over. “D-Daddy…?” she squeaked as reality set in. Her hands began to tremble while her lip quivered. The butlers in the room averted their eyes just as the floodgates burst and Peri threw her arms around Kamui, beginning to bawl. 

While Peri sobbed into her shoulder, Kamui found herself wrapping her arms around her and absentmindedly stroking her back as her own mind wandered. Kamui had only met Peri’s father—Count Tyr—on one occasion some time ago after he invited the two to a banquet, but from her limited interactions with him and Peri’s own stories, she knew that he was a good man. The district of Asgard was where the majority of Nohr’s nobility resided, and while it had an adequate amount of knights residing in it, they would fall easily if they were met with any kind of sizable force, and yet, the soldiers of Nohr were trained to fight to the bitter end even if all hope seemed lost. Even disregarding the Count’s death, so many people had to have needlessly lost their lives.

Kamui bit her tongue—it wasn’t as if she hadn’t done similar years ago. Immediately, she dismissed the thought from her head.  _ No, no, no. That isn’t on you. It was Iago—you didn’t know what would happen,  _ she told herself. She had been played by Nohr’s current king, and yet, Corrin would commit such an act willingly? It made her stomach turn. Even after the ambush and attempted murder of her and the people who had once been his cherished brothers and sisters, Kamui had been holding out hope that the sweet, kind boy she used to know was still there. Now that he had taken the lives of innocents, though…she was not so sure. 

“I’ll take this to the king,” Dwyer said with his head hung low, gently taking the document from his father’s hand. After Jakob gave a nod of approval, the young man silently exited the room. Now alone with the pair of women, Jakob cleared his throat. 

“Ah…if I may ask, what do you plan to do now?” 

Jakob’s words could just barely be heard over the sound of Peri’s crying. Placing her hand tenderly on the girl’s head and running her fingers through her hair. She stared down at the various maps and sheets of paper laid out before her, a thousand thoughts running through her mind all at once. With a deep breath, she nodded to herself.

“Armistice ended months ago, so…I suppose it’s time to do this.” 

* * *

“I see you’re doing well for yourselves. I’m glad.” 

Corrin sat on a soft beige couch in the middle of a modern-looking living room with a smile on his face. While the other furniture that filled the room tied it all together and gave it a nice, comfortable feeling, what threw it all off balance was the myriad children’s toys scattered across the floor. While a well-toned man tended to a cut of meat sizzling in a frying pan atop a stove in the next room, a tall, perky-looking woman with her hair in a braid that fell over her shoulder presented the prince with a cup of tea. Corrin took the saucer into his hands with a smile and set it down on the low table before him. 

“Thank you, Hana. Might I ask, where’s your little one?”

Hana shook her head before sitting down right next to Corrin and putting her hands in her lap. “You don’t have to be so formal, Corrin. We’re friends, remember? As for Hisame, he’s out in town playing with his friends. One of their mothers is supervising, so he should be home before dark.” 

“That’s good, that’s good,” Corrin said as he raised the teacup to his lips. “Has he been growing well? What sort of child is he?” 

“A tough one to handle, that’s the sort of child he is!” Hinata called from the kitchen with a hearty laugh. “We shouldn’t be surprised, though. With Hana’s spunk and my energy, he was bound to turn out like this!” 

The woman nodded in agreement with her husband, leaning over the couch to brush a peculiar looking toy out of the way. “You know, over in Windmire, they’re starting to make these like, mechanical carriage-type things. I’ve got no idea how it works. Runs on petroleum or something.”

“Are they, now? I’m surprised that they aren’t putting all of their industrial efforts into war.” Corrin closed his eyes and took a sip from his cup with a calm expression. “They’re going to need the extra firepower with what’s coming to them.” 

Though he could not see, the smile began to fade from Hana’s face. “Right…I’m guessing that’s what you’re here about?” 

“Mmm,” Corrin confirmed. “This war has gone on for far too long and I plan to put an end to it within the coming weeks. We launched an attack on Asgard two days ago that was a complete success. No casualties—on our end. In fact, the old squad and I are set to start on the path tomorrow morning. I was wondering if…” 

Now, Hana was frowning. “ _ Tomorrow _ ? Corrin, this is incredibly short notice. Even then…while I appreciate the offer, we really do have our hands full with Hisame here.”

“Not a problem. I’m a prince, remember? While we’re out fighting, he’ll be placed under the care of the best handmaids in the nation. You wouldn’t have a thing to worry about.”

“You already know how we feel about other people looking after our kid for too long…” 

“I do.” Corrin smiled. “But think about it, Hana.” He set his saucer down and leaned over to take her hands into his own, squeezing them as he stared into her brown eyes. “This is your chance to make history here. Not only will you be a hero to millions of people, but you’ll be contributing to the abolition of tyranny and the administering of justice. I know you, Hana. You’re someone who always wants to do good. You want this.” 

Hana bit her lip and began to draw her hands back, but Corrin’s grip did not let loose. “Corrin…” 

“Don’t you want to go back to the old days? Your sword slicing through the air and cutting down those who carry out evil? Even after you left, Sakura and Takumi never did try to replace you two as their retainers. You can fight side by side with my sister again, protecting her just like you did for years upon years. Surely you want to remember what it’s like to be a warrior.” 

“I assure you that I haven’t forgotten,” Hana asserted, roughly pulling her hands from Corrin’s grasp and setting her gaze on her lap with a troubled look. “Look, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I don’t want to go back to fighting. I’m happy with my life as it is right now. I make a nice living as a kendo instructor, have a wonderful husband that I come home to everyday, and an amazing little boy that I put to sleep every night. Going back out there on the battlefield and killing people…that just isn’t for me anymore.” The woman let out a long breath before putting a smile back on and looking at her guest. “Besides, I’m sure that you guys will be fine without—” 

Hana cut her speech short upon seeing just how  _ disturbed _ Corrin looked. He did not appear to be upset, but rather hurt. A deep frown was etched onto his face as if he had carved it on there himself. 

“It disappoints me to hear that. I was really looking forward to the chance to fight by your side once again. You were one of my most cherished soldiers, you know.” 

Hana found that hard to believe; he had barely made an effort to get to know her in their relatively short time together. Despite this, she acquiesced. 

“Thank you. I do wish you and everyone else the best of luck, but I’m afraid that Hinata and I won’t be contributing.” As she spoke, Corrin was already rising from his seat and making his way towards the front door. Almost as if he were waiting for his cue, Hinata once again shouted from the kitchen.

“Hey, Corrin! You going to be staying long? I can whip up another cut of beef for you if you want!” 

“No, I was just leaving,” Corrin called flatly. 

“Already? Damn, that sucks. Well, I’ll see you around soon sometime, yeah?” 

There was no response. Corrin had already left by the time Hinata finished his sentence, leaving Hana sitting dumbfounded and alone. She watched as the prince shut the door behind him without so much as a goodbye. He had left as soon as he had come. Hana was ecstatic when he showed up out of the blew barely ten minutes ago and was hoping to catch up after months of having not seen each other, but apparently the only thing on his mind was the war. On one hand she understood—it was only natural for someone in his position to be focused on warfare—but on the other hand, his sudden attitude shift upon the mention of combat made her uneasy. She had of course been aware of the capture and subsequent escape of his sister as well as the execution of one of Princess Camilla’s retainers, but had it really changed it that much? The man she had just sat with was unrecognizable from the Corrin she once knew. He was so…cold.

With a sigh, Hana rose from the couch and walked over to the kitchen’s entrance, knocking on the frame to get Hinata’s attention. “Hey, I think I’m going to head to the castle soon to see Sakura. Do you want to come, too?” 

Hinata shrugged as he flipped the meat on the pan, the sizzle making a smile twitch on his face. “I take it you didn’t get what you wanted out of the good old Assassin Prince, huh? Sure, I’ll go with you. I can leave a note for Yusuke’s mom asking her to look after Hisame for just a little bit longer. We might have to pay her, though.” 

“That’s fine. Thanks, Hina.” With that, the swordswoman returned to the living room and began to tidy up her son’s toys, the uneasy expression remaining on her face.

Meanwhile, just outside their front door, Prince Corrin ground his teeth and shook his head. Both Hana and Hinata were extremely skilled in their crafts and he was expected to make due without them in his efforts to finally defeat Kamui? It was baffling. He supposed that they cared more about not being apart from their son for at most two weeks than helping defeat a great evil that had led to thousands of deaths of the years. 

It didn’t matter, though. Even if he was to lose two valuable tools, Corrin knew that his own prowess was more than enough to make up for it. Swordfaire, ninjutsu, and his dragon abilities all made him a force to be reckoned with. On top of that, he could  _ fly, _ and he knew that neither Kamui nor her petulant son could do such a thing. He supposed that his sister had not been lucky enough to receive that trait from their bloodline. 

_ Do you think that your mom could fly like you can? _

Corrin’s head suddenly pounded as a voice echoed through his thoughts—Lilith’s. She had once asked him that while she was observing one of the earliest of Kara’s flight training sessions. He cursed under his breath. It was pointless to spend time hung up over a traitor like her.

After taking several moments to exhale, Corrin spread his wings and kicked off of the ground to take to the skies. Hana and Hinata only lived about a mile or so outside of Shirasagi, so he figured that he should reach the castle in a little under ten minutes. As he glided through the air, he closed his eyes in an attempt to clear his head. It wasn’t as if he had to concern himself over anyone crashing into him at this altitude. 

Tomorrow, he and his team would be departing for Asgard along with around three-hundred Hoshidan soldiers. While he was certain that he and his elite squad could easily handle around a hundred or so of Nohr’s troops at once, Yukimura wished to make certain that there was as little risk as possible. They had now arrived at the home stretch of the war, after all, and to lose here would cost them everything. That was not an option.

Three-hundred…the number stayed stuck in Corrin’s mind. Three-hundred of his country’s finest soldiers, from those fresh out of the academy to those who had served for the majority of their lives. Men and women, young and old, eager and jaded, they would be putting their lives on the line all for Corrin. The prince bore the weight of all those lives on his shoulders…he could feel his wings beginning to ache, but he grit his teeth and kept on soaring. In the coming days, each drop of blood spilled would be on his sister’s hands. She could have ended the conflict weeks ago—or at the very least make an effort to de-escalate it—but no. She had always taken such pride in herself as a fighter when they were younger and here she was allowing that very ego to permit the deaths of innocents. She was being so difficult…after her disgusting rejection of peace at Izumo, the least she could have done was to allow herself and the rest of those Nohrians to be captured and put on trial, or at least accepted her own execution with dignity. She showed her cowardice when she had allowed herself to be rescued by her comrades instead of attempting to escape on her own, though the crime did not go unpunished, as it came at the cost of a valuable Nohrian life. Corrin found himself smiling; at least Setsuna had been avenged on that day.

_ Is that truly how you feel? _

The prince nearly went tumbling down onto the pavement of the capitol below. He faltered in his flight for only a moment before catching the thermals with his wings once again and allowing them to raise him further in the air. With wide eyes, he caught a glimpse of several citizens down below waving and shouting greetings at their cherished Assassin Prince. His expression remained unchanged as he gave a single salute in return. 

Once again, he was hearing voices, only this time it was not Lilith. It wasn’t even an echo of something he had heard in the past. No, this was entirely new, and it was the person whose voice he heard that shocked him the most and made his heart jump into his throat. 

“Mother…” 

* * *

The city of Valhalla in the Nohrian district of Asgard was a rather beautiful one, which was to be expected considering its residents were primarily affluent aristocrats. The streets almost always looked freshly paved with bricks of gold, the architecture was lavish and luxurious, and the people were almost always dressed as if they were out to attend a gala. In addition to that, the city was so distinctly  _ Nohrian. _ From the designs of the buildings and the fashion of its denizens, it had an incredibly modern feel. That feel, however, was currently offset by the dozens upon dozens of soldiers clad in traditional Hoshidan armor that were patrolling the streets.

By mandate of King Ryoma himself, all residents of Valhalla were under order to not leave their homes under any circumstance lest they face imprisonment or worse if they did not comply. Despite this, Princess Sakura had assured everyone that no harm would come to them as long as they followed the orders they were given and did not cause any trouble. The occupation would last two weeks at most, and during that time the Hoshidan soldiers were instructed to provide food and supplies to the population regularly. They weren’t trying to hurt any citizens, after all, but rather they wished to keep a key area of Nohr’s economic and political structure under their control. 

Standing before a row of a dozen or so pegasi with a clipboard in her hand, Hinoka found herself staring at Corrin talking with a slightly taller older-looking man. He had sea-green hair and a small amount of hair sprouting from his chin, circular glasses resting on his face. This was Yukimura, Hoshido’s head tactician. Hinoka was slightly taken aback when she had been informed that he would be accompanying them on this journey, though he explained that he wished to be present in case any last-minute decisions had to be made or if Corrin needed a consultant. Usually, Azura played that role, but Corrin had been acting rather cold towards her as of late for a reason that no one seemed to know. 

“Hey, Noka? You okay?” 

The princess jumped in surprise, but soon found herself calmed once again at the sight of her husband’s golden hair and bright smile. Hinoka pressed her lips together and nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

Kaden tilted his head, unconvinced. “You sure? You were sort of staring at Corrin and that old guy over there.”

“Really, Kaden, everything’s alright,” Hinoka answered with a chuckle. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be helping Reina with the kinshi? Don’t tell me you’re slacking off now.” 

The kitsune’s ears stiffened and he frowned. “Aaaw, I don’t like that lady, though! She scares me…don’t you have anything else that I could do to help out?” 

Hinoka sighed and shook her head, a smile still on her face. “Sure. I know Selkie can do it on her own, but I want you to patrol the western side of the city to see if anyone’s out and about. If you find anyone, escort them back to their residences. If they don’t comply…just bark. I’m sure one of the soldiers will be over to help you in no time.” 

“Yeah, yeah! I can do that!” Kaden responded with a wide grin and a wagging tail. “Ah…which way’s west again?” 

The chipper Kitsune man took off in the direction his wife pointed at once and left her snickering. Once again, Hinoka was by herself, though that soon changed when Azura approached her just as soon as Kaden left. 

“Finishing up here?” she asked. 

Hinoka nodded and quickly gave her checklist a final look before holding it at her side. “Mhm, I’m done. Did you need something?” 

The songstress bit her lip and quickly glanced at the tactician and High Commander before turning her gaze back to Hinoka. “Ah…yes. It’s about Corrin. Are you worried about him?” 

Hinoka blinked. The question came out of nowhere, so it wasn’t as if she had an answer prepared. While her face remained blank for several moments, it slowly shifted into a frown as time passed. 

“Um…what makes you ask that?” 

Azura frowned as well, though hers was more of disappointment than concern. “Hinoka. We have been sisters for twenty-three years. I know you, and I know that you see what I see—what we all see. I don’t have to explain myself. All I want is an answer from you.” 

With a grimace, Hinoka couldn’t help but look away and mumble. “I…yes. I am. The other day, I had a talk about him with Sakura and the boys. We know that he has a lot on his mind, but the way he’s acting—” 

“I know what’s going on.” Azura seized her sister’s hands with her own and looked her in the eyes. “Listen. Tonight, after Corrin and the kids are asleep, I need you, Ryoma, Takumi, and Sakura to come to the tent I’ll be sharing with Kaze and Midori. We’ll all be heading out tomorrow, so we need to do this tonight, okay? There’s a pond in a nearby park here. I’ll be taking you there. I’ll explain everything, I promise.” 

Hinoka cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “Huh? Azura, what are you talking about?” 

“Please, just trust me on this. Corrin won’t look me in the eye, Shigure’s still missing, I can’t drag Kaze and Midori into this, I—” the singer’s voice waved for a moment and she uttered a silent curse. “I’m alone here. I can’t do this by myself anymore…please.” 

Noticing the tears just starting to well in Azura’s eyes, Hinoka quickly nodded her head and acquiesced. She hated seeing her siblings cry. 

“Alright, alright! I’ll tell the others about it soon. I trust you, Azura.” 

Letting Hinoka’s hands fall loosely from her grasp, Azura gave a breath of relief and blinked away her tears. “Thank you. I know you must be confused, but I’ll tell you  _ everything _ tonight. Just be careful not to let Corrin catch wind of this.” Azura turned her head to glance behind her only to catch a glimpse of the aforementioned man staring directly at her, Yukimura’s words going in through one ear and out the other. His expression was incredibly disconcerting. With his half-closed eyes and his neutral expression he seemed almost disinterested, though Azura knew that to not be the case. She whipped her head back around and grit her teeth.

“It’s been like this ever since we left…he’s like a hawk. Always watching me.” 

“Whatever it is that happened between you two to make things like this, I’m sure he means well. He’s Corrin, you know?” Hinoka offered with a hopeful albeit half-hearted smile. “Biggest heart in all of Hoshido. Loving brother, husband, and father. Our Corrin.” 

Azura did not respond. She only hung her head low and pursed her lips, not meeting the other princess’ gaze. 

“I’ll see you tonight.” 

And with that, she kept her head down as she continued onward towards a destination that Hinoka did not know. Hinoka stared in wonder as her sister walked away; just what did she want to tell her? 

Meanwhile, a young kunoichi crouched perched atop one of the numerous spires present around Valhalla, staring far down below at the man she called Father. With a frown on her face, she pushed her glasses up to rest better on her nose and let out a despondent sigh. She forced the countless thoughts racing through her mind to quiet down before closing her eyes and leaning back against the stone. 

Kotomi had always liked high places. She wasn’t sure if it was due to Corrin’s natural affinity for the sky combined with the fact that unlike her sister, she couldn’t fly, but she wasn’t someone to concern herself over the “why” of things. All she knew was that being so far above everyone else made her feel alone and at peace, and that was all that mattered. 

“Hey.” 

Rhajat would have ended up with a kunai buried in her chest if it hadn’t been for Shiro reflexively snatching it out of the air a split second before it could touch her. Despite the attempt on her life, Rhajat’s expression remained as stone-cold as usual as Kotomi gasped. 

The door to the roof of the building she was on was wide open and three people stood barely an arm’s length away from her. Kotomi cursed herself—how did she manage to allow them to approach her unnoticed? Not to mention the fact that she had nearly murdered one of her friends. 

“Gods! Rhajat, I’m sorry! I didn’t notice you!” 

“Don’t mention it. I’m alive, aren’t I?” the girl responded with a nonchalant shrug. Shiro spun the weapon in his hand and presented it to its owner handle-first. Biting her lip, Kotomi took it back before loading it onto her belt and responding with a quiet “thank you”. 

“What’re you doing up here?” the prince asked curiously. “We saw you from the streets and Midori here got a little worried that you were going to jump or something. I told her that if you were going to kill yourself you’d just cut your stomach open like a good ninja, but she insisted we at least check on you.” 

Midori protested, stomping her foot and balling her fists. “Why do you say that like you’re making fun of me?! It isn’t a bad thing to want to make sure that your cousin is OK!” 

“It’s fine, Midori. I was just…thinking,” Kotomi answered as she stepped over the guard-rail and touched her feet to solid ground. “I have a lot on my mind, you know?” 

“Thinking about the next few days, I assume? Makes sense.” Shiro bent over to lean on the aforementioned rail with a smile, closing his eyes and turning his head up to bask in the soft rays of the setting sun. “It’s all because of us, you know.” 

A shudder ran down Kotomi’s spine. “I know…that’s what I was thinking about.” She hid her eyes behind her dark hair and rubbed her arm. “I was wondering…did we do the right thing? Helping Kamui escape?” 

“Depends on who you ask. To your dad? No, we didn’t. To Kamui and her family? Of course we did. If you ask me, for instance, I think we did because it would have been a shame to let such a pretty face go to waste~,” Rhajat said as a lecherous smile crept across her face, prompting Midori to step away from her with a look of horror. 

Kotomi shook her head. “I understand that, but when it comes to the consequences of our actions…there has to be a right answer, right? What if more people die than would have if we had just let her be killed? What if we lose and Nohr takes over Hoshido, leading to a dictatorship that could last generations?” 

“You worry too much,” Shiro said with a lighthearted chuckle, much to Kotomi’s annoyance. “Look, you said it yourself back when we came up with the plan to begin with. You think that Kamui is a good person, right? So would it be ‘right’ to allow a good person to be condemned to death just to fulfill someone’s desire for revenge? Because let’s be real, we don’t know what would have come from killing her. Unless they can look into the infinite amount of different futures, no one can. For all we know, that could have just pissed the Nohrians off even more. Gods know that no sane person would want to face the wrath of Princess Camilla trying to avenge a dead sibling. I’ve never even met the woman and that thought terrifies me.”

“I know that, but I can’t help but feel that we screwed up somehow. My dad lost his arm,” Kotomi looked to Midori, “he won’t talk to your mom anymore, and that poor girl was executed in Kamui’s place. Was all that worth it for whatever future we’re going to come to?” 

“You can ask yourself that when it’s all said and done,” Rhajat answered. “You see the way that your dad’s been for a while. If we hadn’t stopped him from killing his own sister, there may have been no coming back from that. Hell, there still might not be, but we don’t know that yet. There’s no use in dwelling on paths that you don’t know.”

Shiro stretched his arms and opened his eyes to look down on his younger cousin. “Look, let me tell you something. When we were getting everyone in on that plan, Matoi said something to me that got me to thinking for a while. She asked me  _ ‘Shouldn’t you hate her? She’s part of the reason that you’ve never met your mother’ _ . I’d asked myself that same question a dozen times, but for whatever reason, when someone actually asked for an answer…I had to stop for a while. I decided that no, I shouldn’t hate her.” 

“Why?” 

He shrugged. “What’s the point in hating someone you’ve never met? It isn’t like she’s the one who severed my mom’s head from her body, either. Things would be different if that were the case, I’d like to think. Regardless, even now I think about the guy that  _ did _ kill her. Hans, I think his name is. Do I want to get the guy? Of course, but not because I’m out for revenge. It’s because he’s a bad person that needs to be stopped. I do hold resentment towards him for taking the experience of growing up without a mom from me, but I don’t think killing him would do much to help that. I think the same thing applies to Corrin. He wouldn’t have felt fulfilled by killing his sister—in fact, he wouldn’t have felt fulfilled by killing everyone responsible for Grandmother or Grandfather’s deaths. That’s just not how people work. The hole in his heart can’t be filled by blood, only healing.”

Kotomi’s chest hurt. What Shiro was saying made sense, but still she felt a heavy sense of guilt weighing her down. Even so, she slowly nodded her head and stood up straight. 

“Alright. I understand what you mean. I won’t pretend that the upcoming fights aren’t going to be hard, but I’ll do my best. I just…we have to find a way to stop him from killing her when we win. I don’t want to let that happen.” 

“Yeah, I don’t want her to die, either,” Midori added. “But, if they end up fighting, I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone to get involved…” 

“Oh, they will. There isn’t a thing on this planet that could stop those two from crossing blades when all is said and done. We’ll get to it when we get to it, though.” Rhajat gave a small smile and put her hand on the short girl’s head. “For now, just do what you can. Anyway, it’s getting dark, and you guys know how my dad can be. We may be the same age, but he treats me like a child anyway.” 

“Hey, don’t be so hard on the guy. He mostly knew you as a teenager with the way time in your deeprealm worked out, right? It’s only natural.” Shiro laughed as Rhajat grumbled. “We should all probably get going, though. The journey to Windmire starts tomorrow, so we’ve got to be all well-rested.” He began to make his way back towards the door in which they had come in from before beckoning to Kotomi. “You too, Kotomi. I’m sure that your little sis is worried about you.” 

The corners of the young woman’s mouth could not help but turn up into a smile. “Right. Coming.”

* * *

The first wave of Hoshidan forces that had been sent did not last. 

Kamui was surprised that her brother had not opted to lead the assault himself. Perhaps if he had, she would not be staring out at a sea of bodies that covered the land. They had arrived in Muspelheim—the district that occupied most of the space between Helheim and Asgard—that morning and had been almost completely wiped out by the time the sun was at its highest. It was mostly desert, so their bodies lay atop red stone and sand. Once upon a time the sight would have made Kamui’s stomach turn, but she had changed much over the years. 

Hans placed a rough hand on the princess’ shoulder and leaned in a little too close with a devious grin. “Would you look at all that? Ain’t it beautiful? Should teach them to know their place.” 

Kamui brushed his hand away, unblinking. “It’s sickening, that's what it is. And don’t touch me.”

The older man sneered as she stepped back a bit, a scowl on his face that quickly reverted back to a smug smile. “Right…so, what’s our next move,  _ Commander _ ? I may outrank you, but you’re still the one leading this whole thing.” 

“Did you pay no attention at all during the briefing? I suppose I should have come to expect that of you.” Kamui crossed her arms and began to make her way down the steep rocky hill. “Through Muspelheim. We defeat any Hoshidans we might come across along the way, take back Valhalla, and then move across the Bottomless Canyon. From there we move through Vanaheim and then finally arrive at Shirasagi in Alfheim. Things should be apparent by that point.” 

“What do you plan on doing with your dear old brother? Not to mention those other Hoshidan brats.” 

Kamui’s ear twitched. “That’s none of your concern at this moment. Hans, what I would like for you to do is report our victory to the king and see to it that he is comfortable. That’s a simple enough task, isn’t it?” 

Before the man could even respond, Kamui had manifested the gateway to the Astral Plane before them and stopped walking. The veins in Hans’ forehead threatened to burst through his skin. 

“And what makes you think that I’d—” 

“Hans.” Kamui turned to look up at him, staring into his fury-filled eyes with a stone cold expression. “You can shout at me. You can stomp your feet. You can even complain to Iago. I don’t care. You do not scare me. Now, I suggest you stop wasting both of our time and simply do as I say.”

Hans gazed at the short girl with his mouth agape and shock plastered on his face. After a moment, he simply grit his teeth and gave a grunt before walking right through the portal. Kamui smirked behind his back and closed it once he was a fair distance away, then continuing down the hill and reaching the flatland. 

“Hey!” Lilith called as she lightly jogged up to her commander, Sophie and Kana at her side. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail and she was wearing the same ebony-black armor that she had donned during the ambush on the road from Izumo. “Arthur and Keaton just finished surveying the area. No stragglers. Everyone’s either dead or retreated.”

“And those with injuries?” 

“In the medical tent with Jakob. He’s handling the enemy injuries while Auntie Elise does our own. We figured that it may have made things feel weird if they were being tended to by the princess of the nation they’re at war with,” Sophie added. 

Kamui gave a satisfied smile and nod. “Good. And our squad is the only one that knows about it, right? None of the soldiers from the general army?”

“That’s right,” Kana answered. “Nyx and Ophelia are doing a good job of keeping it under wraps with illusion magic—everyone outside of the whitelist just sees a huge boulder. They could have just made the tent invisible, but that ran the risk of people walking right into it. Once the Hoshidans are all better, we’re going to drop them off in the nearest town.” 

The princess was greatly pleased by this, as made evident by a single hearty clap. While the upper-class denizens and politicians of Nohr may have been riddled with extreme xenophobia, she knew that the general populace was rather welcoming. They would welcome anyone in need with open arms, even if they were foreign soldiers. 

“Good, good. Everything’s going as planned then…we’re in the home stretch now, you guys.” Kamui slung each arm over her children and pulled them into a tight hug with a wide grin. “We’re so,  _ so _ close. In just a few days this will all be over. Everyone will be together again.” 

“Then I can finally meet Uncle Corrin, huh? Assuming he’s not all psycho-killer by that point. You must be excited too, right, Kana?” 

The young boy bit his lip nervously, but nevertheless gave a nod. “Yeah. Dad always says that I looked more like Corrin than him. I uh…wonder if that’s true.”

Lilith tapped Kamui on the shoulder. “We should start gathering bodies before it gets dark. I know Xander wanted to get started right after the battle ended, but you have to be there to divide everyone into groups.” 

“Right, right.” Kamui released Sophie and Kana and took a deep breath, her grin slowly fading from her face. There were dozens upon dozens of corpses to collect and set to pyre. At one point, each and every one of them had been a living, breathing person with their own hopes and dreams, needs and desires, family and friends…the thought made Kamui’s heart hurt, but she knew that she had to carry on forward. There was no use in crying over spilled milk, after all. 

“Well then,” she began, hands on her hips and head held high. “Let’s begin.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we're in the endgame now, fellas. The coming chapters will be among the last to be published as we reach the end of this story. Now, I'll be frank with you all...yeah, we've totally caught up to what I had pre-written. However, that's a good thing! I like this timing because it allows me to work on the last couple of chapters at my own pace. That being said, thus ends the biweekly update schedule that I've (mostly) kept to these past couple months. I want the last chapters to be the best that they can be, so I'm going to take my time with them. My hope is that we'll be done here by the end of the year, but hey, anything can happen. I'm a college student, after all, and my workload is threatening to bury me @~@ That's life, though. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed, and as always, have yourself a good one.


	25. Light Scatters

“That…that can’t be true. This doesn’t make any sense.” 

Hinoka sat on the edge of a floating island, her legs dangling over the seemingly infinite sky below. She stared down at the clouds with a look of disbelief. Ryoma, Sakura, Takumi and Azura all stood behind her with expressions ranging from resentment to fear. The king himself had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, his head hung low. 

“If all of what you just told us is true, then how come the twins were the only ones to inherit Mother’s dragon powers? Why is it that the rest of us can’t do anything like what they can?” the eldest princess asked, her fingers digging into the dirt. 

Azura shook her head as she held her hands over her heart. “I don’t know the answer to that. Perhaps it’s a recessive gene?”

“Tch. A recessive gene from a draconic bloodline? Unlikely,” Takumi added. 

“M-maybe that’s right, though?” Sakura suggested, shuffling her feet. “If Anankos married a human woman, then that would only make Mother half-dragon. If we’re all a quarter-dragon, well…the bloodline would have been weakened.” 

“_Half-dragon _ _?_ Try half-GOD!”

“You would be right if it were the Silent Dragon himself, but you have to remember that this is only his human avatar.” Azura shook her head again, this time slightly more frustrated. “Look, that isn’t important. What _ is _ is that now that we all know the truth, we can progress appropriately.” 

Ryoma, having been silent for almost the entire time Azura was explaining everything, finally opened his eyes and spoke. “Azura, forgive me for asking, but I must. What exactly does this change?” 

Taken aback by the question, the princess thinned her eyes and tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“We know the truth now, and that’s good, but what are we to do with this information? If we lose, Iago sits on our throne and disappears, but by then we’ll all probably be dead. We know that you sent Shigure to tell Kamui exactly what you just told us. We know that Corrin is most likely being influenced by a malevolent spirit due to his weakened mental state just like Takumi was, but we already know that that can be fixed either by improving said mental state or with your song. We know the world’s history, we know that King Garon was a puppet in the final years of his life, and we know that the Silent Dragon will do everything in his power to destroy both Hoshido and Nohr, but what does that _ change _?” Ryoma let his arms fall to his side and stepped closer to his older sister. “We still have to defeat Nohr by any means necessary. Haven’t you been listening to Corrin lately? All this bloodshed is…it’s pointless.” 

Azura balled her fists and bit her lip nervously. “Can’t you see? If either country is completely decimated, then the one left standing will stand no chance against the Silent Dragon. We must combine our forces and work together to—” 

“That’s not happening,” Hinoka said through grit teeth, drawing everyone’s attention over to her. “Whether we like it or not, someone’s going down at the end of this all. Nohr’s never been one to make compromises and we can’t very well just allow them to continue to raze our villages. Either we beat them or they beat us.” 

“But this isn’t just _ Nohr_, it’s Kamui! Your sister! I’m certain that she sees reason!” Azura’s speech grew more and more frantic as she continued. “A-and if you win, you’ll be merciful of course, right?” 

Ryoma blinked. “That is…up to Corrin.” 

“Ryoma, you’re the KING!” Azura shouted, walking even closer to him. She desperately took Ryoma’s hands into her own and raised them together, squeezing tightly. She stared up with wide, pleading eyes. “You have the authority to usurp everything Corrin wishes! Come now, you can’t really believe that Kamui is beyond salvation, can you? You spent nearly two decades desperately wishing for her return, and even after she chose Nohr I _ know _you never stopped loving her. She is…she’s your little sister.”

The man grimaced before slowly shaking his head. “As a direct result of her actions, my wife among countless others have lost their lives. She is no sister of mine.” 

Letting out a shaky breath, Azura allowed Ryoma’s hands to gently fall from her own as she took a step back. “You don’t mean that. You can’t.” 

“Why do you even care about her so much?” Takumi asked in a huff. “You went so far as to send off Shigure into enemy territory for her, but why?” 

“She’s worried about the legend,” Hinoka mumbled as a response. “The wielders of the Twin Yato can’t exactly bring salvation to the world if they kill one-another.” 

“Yes! Exactly!” Azura confirmed with a hopeful yet still worried smile. “We’re supposed to come together to defeat Anankos once and for all, not die for nothing!” 

Ryoma thinned his eyes. “_Nothing _? Azura, have you listened to any of us at all…? You know what she’s done. If she is to die, then…then justice will be served.” 

Azura looked at her siblings one by one with horrified eyes. Hinoka remained staring at the clouds, Takumi’s eyes were concealed by his hair while he crossed his arms, Sakura kept her eyes on her feet and Ryoma remained stoic. The singer shook her head as a single tear rolled down her cheek and fell from her chin.

“You’re not going to help me, are you?” 

Takumi sighed and began to approach the woman, putting a single hand on her shoulder and looking her in the eyes when he arrived. “Look, we want to help Corrin as much as possible, and if getting rid of Kamui will do that for him, then who are we to stop him? I’m sure that we can take on the dragon by ourselves once this is all over.” 

“But…but it won’t,” Azura responded, her face beginning to take on a look of despair. “He would be killing his sister. How can none of you see how that would only hurt him even more?” 

“It’s what he wants. We have to allow him to make that decision by himself.” 

Azura took several steps back and slowly raised both hands to run her fingers through her hair. “So…I’m alone here. Just like I was before. If none of you will support me in trying to prevent her death, then what’s the point in trying? It’s a fruitless effort. I can’t do it on my own. Not even with Shigure’s support on the other side.” 

Ryoma grimaced and reached out towards his sister sympathetically. “Azura, I—”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Azura slapped Ryoma’s hand away and scowled, her sudden change of tone making Hinoka jolt up and the king widen his eyes. “How dare you try and console me when you’re the root of my pain to begin with? You all know what will happen if Corrin kills Kamui—you ** _know_ ** where that path leads—and yet you’re willing to let it happen for what? For some distorted sense of justice?!” At this point, heavy tears were flowing down like water leaking through a cracked dam. Her voice broke as she continued, shakily gesturing to each of her siblings. “Kamui is NOT the one that killed Scarlet. She is NOT the one that killed Sumeragi or Mikoto. She is NOT the one who ordered Hoshidan villages to be burned to the ground.” 

Takumi bit his tongue. “We don’t know that.”

“YES WE DO!” Azura screamed, pulling at her hair in frustration. “No matter what, Kamui would _ never _do such a thing. I can see it in each and every one of your eyes; you don’t believe that Kamui is evil. You may have only known her for a short time, but she is your _ sister_. Don’t you remember that? Don’t you remember what she said just before Mikoto was killed? She loves you all, and you love her, too, damn it! I know you do! So then how could you be okay with letting someone else you love murder her in cold blood?” 

“If it hadn’t been for her decision back then, none of this would have happened!” Ryoma shouted back, showing anger for what his siblings felt was the first time in years. “Or at least Scarlet would still be alive! Her blood is on her hands!” 

Azura grit her teeth, glaring at them all before something inside of her shattered. The tension in her face faced and she simply stared before falling to her knees and shaking her head.

“Cowards.” 

“Excuse me?” Hinoka inquired.

“You’re all cowards. You’re so scared of what might happen to Corrin that you’re willing to sacrifice Kamui for a chance of saving him. You won’t try and protect her because you’re scared of losing them both. That’s it.” 

Ryoma pressed his lips together and adjusted his stance, his heart heavy in his chest. “Kamui has—”

“And you keep telling yourselves all these things that you know in your heart aren’t true in order to justify it…they’re going to end up killing each other. And it will be your fault.” 

Hinoka balled her fists and finally stood up from the ledge as her blood began to boil. “You’re wrong. Y-you don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Then you’re resentful,” Azura said flatly as she weakly rose to her feet, her eyes dark. “All those years spent longing for her return, training to bring her back, hearing about how perfect she was, only for her to choose people she already had bonds with over you all. You’re going to let your sister die because of your own petty grudge.”

Ryoma grit his teeth. “That’s not—” 

“Sakura,” Azura began, drawing the attention of Hoshido’s nervous youngest princess. “You’re the most kindhearted of us all, even more so than Corrin once was. You’ve barely said a word…I know what you desire.” She pressed her hands together and begged. “Please, for Kamui and Corrin’s sake. Say something.”

Her face a deep red, Sakura struggled to find words. She was not nearly as shy as she was in her younger years, but being put on the spot in such a manner made her heart pound in her chest. She crossed her arms over her stomach and tightly gripped the loose bits of her clothing, biting her lip. Her voice caught in her throat when she laid eyes on Azura’s expecting gaze, the other princess’ expression darkening by the second.

Sakura did not say a word. 

Azura let out a soft breath. “So that’s it, is it?” she asked, her arms falling weakly to her side and her legs started to wobble. “It’s over.” 

“Azura, please.” Ryoma began to speak, but by that point, Azura had already started to make her way over to the island’s edge. 

“I just…no one has to die here. I pray you all accept that before it’s too late. It could mean the difference between a happy ending and the destruction of that which you love. Please.” 

And with that, she stepped off and plummeted into the sky below. 

* * *

“Wake me up when we get to Asgard.” 

Those were the final words that Peri spoke before she yawned and instantly drifted off to sleep in the carriage, resting her head on Kamui’s shoulder and hugging the princess’ arm. Much to their husbands’ chagrin, Kamui smiled adoringly at the sleeping knight’s visage with pink cheeks before looking at the men. 

“Isn’t she adorable?” she asked, chuckling. “It’s amazing how large the contrast between how she’s usually like and what she’s like on the battlefield is.” 

“That’s just how she is. Blood’s like a sort of trigger for her, you know?” Laslow explained. “She gets a taste of it and becomes a demon with no regard for her own safety. Gods, it worries me every time she rushes headfirst straight into the enemy. She’s going to get hurt one of these days.” 

Silas pat him on the back with a reassuring grin. “Man, you of all people should know that that woman is indestructible. If she’s ever seriously wounded, she’d be so hopped up on adrenaline that she’d just kill her attacker and make her away over to the nearest healer without breaking a sweat.” 

“Not true,” Laslow corrected. “Do you remember that day we let Soleil in the army? The leader of the band of thieves managed to get his sword right through her chest. She dropped instantly.” He shifted in his seat and stared at his slumbering wife with dark eyes and a growing frown, eyeing the scar on her cheek that Kagero had given her all those years ago. “She still has the scar right below her sternum. If Forrest hadn’t been nearby, then…I don’t think she would have made it.” 

Silas grimaced and awkwardly rubbed at his neck. “Well, that was someone attacking her daughter. She’s safer when it’s just random enemy soldiers, isn’t she?” 

“Soleil is fighting with us, you know. There are going to be a lot of people attacking her. That’s why I advised her not to wander too close to her mother on the battlefield.” Laslow let out a deep sigh, leaning forward and massaging his temples as he closed his eyes. “She stresses me out. A lot. I don’t want to go home after all this with a daughter but no wife.” 

“Laslow,” Kamui snapped her fingers twice to get the man to look at her. “Come now. It’s Peri. Do you truly believe that I would allow harm to come to her? I love her just as much as you do, you know.” 

To the princess’ pleasure, she managed to bring a smirk back to Laslow’s face as he relaxed in his chair and looked at her smugly. “So you’re in love with my Peri, huh? Sorry, Princess, but she’s spoken for. You should have thought about that back when she had a crush on you.” 

“Oh, please. I could steal her away from you with a whisper.” 

“Could you, now? I’ll have you know that I was quite the lady’s man in my younger years. I assure you, I’ve still got it.” 

Kamui could not help but burst out laughing, doubling over and pointing her finger as she did. “Ladies man? Enough with the jests, Laslow! I’ve heard the stories from Selena; you couldn’t get a woman into your bed if your life depended on it. Peri even told me that you had to ask her out four times before she gave you a chance!” 

Silas raised his eyebrows in surprise as his friend’s face grew more and more red by the moment. “Wait, seriously? _ Four _ times?” 

“She was playing hard to get! She would have said yes the first time if she didn’t like watching me plead!” 

The married couple laughed at Laslow’s misery for a while as he babbled on in a fruitless endeavor to defend himself, though moments later, their jubilance was cut short upon the carriage coming to an abrupt halt, rocking them all roughly and threatening to wake Peri from her slumber. Immediately, Kamui moved her hand from the girl’s head to the hilt of her sword, harkening back to what had happened on the road from Izumo. She was prepared to strike the moment she saw the carriage door open, but instead of the face of an enemy, she was met with the dark visage of her older brother. 

“Xander?” she asked as her eyes thinned and she gently slipped her arm out from Peri’s hold. “What’s going on? Why have we stopped?” For just a moment, the princess felt a tinge of pain in her heart. They were the first words she had spoken to him in weeks and they were an inquiry into a potential combat situation. What kind of a sister was she? 

“Ready yourselves for combat. We’re surrounded.” 

Kamui drew in a sharp breath and a million thoughts ran through her head. How had they been ambushed? Was Corrin among the enemies attacking? Would Silas and Peri be able to get to their horses in the rear fast enough? Before she could let her anxieties consume her, Kamui bit down hard on her tongue to snap herself out of it. No, she had a job to do. 

“Peri.” She began to softly rock the sleeping woman, and moments later, Peri was sitting up and delivering a tired yawn. 

“I feel like I barely slept…we’re in Asgard already?” 

“No. Fighting. Let’s go.” 

Xander stepped away from the carriage exit as Laslow and Silas stepped out, Kamui having to grab Peri’s hand and pull her outside herself due to the latter’s drowsiness. The instant she was outside, Kamui knew what was wrong. It was barely an hour past noon and they had long since left any area where dense foliage would be, and yet the sun’s light was not cast down on them. With a deep sense of dread, the princess turned her head to the air and felt her eyes widen. 

Like a cotton blanket had been cast over the sky itself, well over a hundred large white birds were idling in the air, each one mounted by someone donning armor that was indicative of Hoshidan fliers. She had only seen them once on that fateful day when her mother had passed, but Kamui recognized them immediately. 

“Kinshi,” she whispered, squeezing Peri’s hand. She had heard horror stories of Nohrian soldiers that had been mauled by the beasts—torn apart by sharp talons or pierced with pointed peaks. The commander of the Kinshi Knights was particularly known for her cruelty in battle that would impress even Garon, which was why Kamui felt her heart sink when she saw a black kinshi much larger than the rest descend from the sky until it was just above Kamui herself. 

Atop the bird sat a mature-looking woman with navy-blue hair tied into a ponytail that fell over her shoulder. Contrasted against her calm smile were the pair of grisly scars that formed an ‘X’ over her face. Despite her position, the manner in which she spoke was warm and almost motherly.

“Princess Kamui. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Reina, commander of the Kinshi Knights of Hoshido. How are you today? Well, I hope.” 

As the woman spoke, Kamui’s eyes scanned the area. There were deep, jagged ravines all around the land, which explained how they had been ambushed in an area with virtually no cover. The enemy must have been biding their time within the ravines until the time was right. She cursed. A part of her wanted to blame the coachmen, but there was no way they could have known.

“Silas, go get Agro from the caboose. Take Peri with you; Sophie should be there, too,” Kamui mumbled as to not allow the Hoshidan woman to hear. With a determined nod, Silas turned around and began jogging towards the back of the carriage line alongside Peri, leaving Laslow and Xander alone with their commander. “I am well, yes,” she said in a louder voice. “Please, state your business.” 

“Come now, don’t play the fool. You know very well why me and my soldiers are here,” Reina said with a somewhat disappointed edge to her voice, like a mother scolding her child. “Please, surrender willingly and the rest of your men will be unharmed, otherwise we will be forced to engage. We only want you.” 

Xander squinted. “They…they’re only here for you?” 

“They’re under Corrin’s command, of course they do,” Kamui said through grit teeth. Before she said another word, she quickly glanced behind her before looking straight ahead. Aside from the two who had just ran off, she saw Selena, Odin, Camilla, Elise, and Velouria behind her. In the front she could see Leo, Niles, Nyx, and Arthur. She was certain that she would be able to pick out her friends even among a sea of Nohrian soldiers, so the rest must have been farther away. Regardless, she looked towards the sky once again. “While I’m flattered, I have to decline. I have a mission to fulfill and I do not plan on allowing anyone to stop me.” 

Reina frowned. “Are you certain? I won’t ask you again. If you refuse now, it’ll mean the end for your soldiers here.” 

The princess could not help but grimace. She was right, it _ would _mean the end for countless Nohrian soldiers right here and now whether they were to emerge victorious or not. She could choose to fight and lead those men and women to their deaths or she could give herself up, surely only sealing Hoshido’s fate. The only thing standing between them and the wrath of Iago’s everlasting inferno was herself, after all. It was a lot of responsibility, but…she had chosen to bear it just as these soldiers had chosen to put their lives on the line to fight for their country. 

This was the reality of war. 

Kamui simply drew her Yato and stared into the cold eyes of the kinshi-rider, prompting the older woman to close them and sigh. 

“If that is the case…then I look forward to hearing you scream.” 

With a simple raise of an arm to signal the battle’s start, the Hoshidans began their attack. As the Nohrian soldiers held their weapons high and let out a battle cry, they were dive-bombed by ferocious birds whose riders had no intentions of holding their partners back. 

“Target the birds, not the people!” Kamui called as she sprinted forward with Laslow and Xander at her side, three elite swordmasters of Nohr. The first adversary she made contact with was someone whose kinshi was hellbent on clawing at the face of a young man who could not have been much older than Kana. Transforming just her hand to become scale-clad and hardened, Kamui took hold of the bird’s leg just before the large razor-sharp talons could tear into the boy’s flesh. Pulling the beast down from the air with her enhanced strength, Kamui swung her blade clean through its neck. Immediately, everyone was showered in the warm blood that sprayed from the bird’s headless body, a sight which caused its rider to scream in horror. Before tumbling off of its body, landing hard on the hard dirt ground. Kamui stomped down on her naginata’s blade and bent it into an unusable shape before closing her fist and raising her arm, several spears of ice erupting from the ground and imprisoning the woman.

Kamui put her hand on the terrified boy’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, hoping that that would calm his nerves even in spite of the blood covering both of their faces. “It’s going to be alright, okay? Stay safe and just defend yourself, don’t attack anyone. You’ll be fine.” 

Just as she turned around to check on Laslow and Xander, she witnessed Xander fire a dark aura from Siegfried which pierced the body of a kinshi overheard, causing it to tumble from the sky. Kamui winced as the rider’s scream was abruptly silenced once they disappeared from sight; she doubted they would survive a fall from such a height. 

She continued forth hoping to get a hold of any kinshi she could, but they would all swoop up above just as they entered her range. It was at times like this where she wished she could fly like her brother. Luckily for her, almost as if on cue, she laid eyes on Camilla racing towards her on Hela, leaning to the side with her arm extended and her hand wide open. Intuitively understanding, Kamui made sure she was in the proper position before her sister’s hand finally grabbed her own and she was pulled into the air, Hela gaining elevation by the second.

Camilla hoisted Kamui onto her wyvern’s back before starting to speak. “Hans is doing whatever he pleases, as we expected. He seems to be attempting to rile up the other soldiers, but they’re all still following your orders and going for the kinshi instead of their riders.” 

Kamui raised her eyebrows; there were far too many people on the battlefield for everyone to have heard her command. “Word spreads fast, I see. Good. Have you seen anyone hurt?” 

“No one from our squad, but the healers are doing what they do best. Dwyer—HOLD ON!” 

Kamui was grateful that her body naturally listened to Camilla’s orders. She immediately wrapped her arms tightly around her sister’s waist as her wyvern spun completely upside down, avoiding a barrage of arrows before rising back up. Camilla raised her father’s ax and brought it down on the extended wing of one of the kinshi, sending it crying out in pain as it spiraled down the ground below. The older princess growled in frustration. 

“Damn it all! I’m usually comfortable against other aerial enemies, but some of these people are wielding bows!” Gritting her teeth, she engulfed a fist in flames and punched off to the side, the resulting fireball missing its mark and instead only singing the feathers of a kinshi. “You’ll have to forgive me, darling, but I’m finding it difficult to keep up. There are so many of them and we don’t have many people on flying mounts here.” 

Camilla was right. Of the soldiers she had to work with, only around six or so were pegasus-riders and four had wyverns, not counting Camilla or Shigure. Facing such a large number of flying enemies was already proving to be difficult as a result of that fact. 

Kamui took a deep breath before exhaling out hot air, already feeling her body begin to heat up. “I think I have an idea. I’ve only practiced this once with Nyx’s guidance, but it’s all I can think of at the moment. I’m going to fall now, alright? Don’t try and catch me.” 

“What?!” Camilla turned her head back to look at her sister with wide eyes. “What do you mean you’re going to fall? Are you planning to glide back to the ground or something along those lines?” 

“Not exactly,” Kamui gave a not-so-reassuring smirk as she sprouted her small wings and began to slide off of Hela’s saddle, prompting Camilla to gasp and call out her name. 

It took a moment for Kamui’s wings to catch the updraft as she plummeted through the air, though she soon found a steady balance and began to glide downwards. She then let out another warm exhale as her body grew even hotter. Finally, barely a pinkie’s length from the sole of her shoes, flames began to spew forth towards the ground and propel her upwards. Her heart pounded in her chest despite the wide grin on her face. 

She stabilized her legs to get a better angle as she ascended, bobbing and weaving past the Kinshi Knights that flew past while also being careful not to catch any of them in the fire; she was not exactly too keen on the idea of having flaming giant birds with screaming riders tumbling from above down on her soldiers. Squinting her eyes to protect them from the wind (or potentially insects), she rapidly climbed in altitude before eventually she began to hover high above everyone else, the flames emitting from her feet dying down to prevent her from ascending any higher. Finally, she set the Grim Yato in its scabbard before extending her scale-clad hardened fingers and leaning forward, folding in her wings and letting the flames die out altogether.

Like an asteroid, the princess plummeted through the sky and raked her claws through kinshi after kinshi, tearing right through flesh and staining her fingers in blood. The damage dealt wasn’t enough to take any of them down instantly, but they _ would _have to land; there was no way a kinshi could stay airborne with wounds like the ones she was inflicting. 

Once she reached underneath the densest layer of enemies, she extended her wings once again and let the winds lift her higher, not even having to reignite the fire beneath her feet. Despite the carnage around her, she could not help but feel euphoria over finally tasting flight, something she had secretly longed for since the day Corrin had shown it to her when he attempted his asassination on Garon. Soaring through the air, riding the thermals, feeling the wind against her face…it was freeing. 

As such, she supposed it was no surprise when she felt cold steel slice right through the membrane of her right wing. 

Kamui cried out in pain immediately and twisted her body in the air, the air pushing against her intact wing causing her to spin in the air. As she spiraled downwards, she could briefly make out the visage of Reina staring down at her with a morbid yet pleased smile on her face. This was bad. She was too far from Camilla at this rate, so there would be no catching her. She knew from experience that retracting and sprouting her wings once again would not heal her at all. She could not stay calm enough to focus her mind towards casting any sort of spell. She briefly considered transforming into a dragon and hoping that her increased durability would prevent her from splattering across the stone, but from her limited understanding of physics, that would only hurt her more. At this point, her best hope was that Elise or perhaps Forrest would notice her tumbling through the air, assume that her wing was wounded, and heal her from afar before she hit the ground. 

The princess closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves in order to enable herself to perform magic once again, but she only found herself focusing on the rate at which the distance between herself and the ground was closing. There was no clearing her mind here. With her heart pounding in her chest and blood rushing through her veins, she braced herself for the inevitable impact…

Only to feel herself slowly regaining elevation. 

Kamui opened her eyes only to be greeted by the relieved face of Shigure, who had by some miracle managed to catch her in his arms. “I didn’t know you developed a form of flight. Good to know for the future, but do try and protect yourself better while you’re airborne.” 

“Gods. Shigure. You just saved my life; I don’t—” 

“Save your breath, talking too much will make you lightheaded. Here.” Shigure’s hand became engulfed in a faint light as he moved it up Kamui’s back and down her wing, mending the sliced membrane. “You didn’t forget that I was a healer first and foremost, did you?” 

Kamui bit her lip. “Th-thank you. I almost…I almost died.” 

“You’ve been fighting a war for years now, you should be used to that by now.” 

As Kamui twisted her body and shuffled around to get her rear on the saddle of Shigure’s pegasus, the young man reeled in his steed as to not ascend too high. “Can’t let Reina see me lest she report back to everyone else, though it _ has _ been months at this point. Who knows? Perhaps Mother has already told everyone the truth. Are you alright with me letting you off here?” 

“I am,” Kamui said as her heart rate began to steady. “Be careful, okay? A lot of these people are wielding yumi.” 

“Please, I used to train with some of these guys back when they were Pegasus Knights. I’m no stranger to avoiding arrows.” Shigure smirked and held on tightly to his steed’s reins, tilting nearly ninety degrees in the air. “Good luck! Don’t get hit again!” 

While it was obvious, Kamui nevertheless appreciated Shigure’s advice. She slid off of his pegasus and once again took flight, the flames from her boots propelling her even higher. This time, she had an objective: Reina. 

It was a basic rule of combat that she had tried to adhere to since that first battle at the Bottomless Canyon: If the leader goes down, the rest will follow suit. As such, she scanned the sky above her until she locked onto the lone stark black kinshi gliding through the air and raining down arrow after arrow onto Kamui’s men. She scowled. While she held no contempt in her heart for the woman at all, she had a duty to protect those under her command. Thus, she increased the intensity of the flames propelling her through the air and zoomed towards her target. 

It wasn’t Reina that noticed the princess racing towards her from below—no, it was her mount, who let out a loud cry upon laying eyes on Kamui. Reina drew in a gasp and glanced downwards before quickly pulling her kinshi’s reins up and narrowly avoiding having its head cut clean off. Kamui ceased her ascent the instant she missed, leaning forward and propelling herself forward once again with her arms drawn back in preparation for another attack. The older woman sneered and weaved her way out of the path of Kamui’s blade, ending up right before her. She then smiled. 

“You’re not used to this, are you? You have the same form as a trainee Pegasus Knight.” 

“Your words mean nothing,” Kamui quickly responded as she twisted in the air and lobbed a large fireball in Reina’s direction. The much more experienced flier dodged it with ease and continued to speak. 

“This method of flight shows promise. I was always interested in the way your brother flew on his own, but you…you’re different.” Much to Kamui’s frustration, Reina continued to speak even as she avoided Kamui’s attacks with seemingly no effort. “Those little wings of yours. They’re not big enough to actually hold your weight, are they? Not to mention the fact that they appear to be rather sturdy. The fact that you’re able to glide with them at all is a miracle in itself.” 

Kamui grit her teeth before halting her momentum in the air, steadying her body before extending her arm and channeling electricity from her core, down her arm and into her palm. She knew from experience that even the thinnest beams of electricity were difficult to dodge since the attack naturally sought out a conductor, and in war, there was metal all over people’s bodies. She let the energy burst forth from her body, though her eyes widened when instead of attempting to avoid it like Kamui had expected, Reina went straight for her. What the princess did not anticipate was for her to casually toss her naginata in the air, redirecting the electrical blast away from her despite Kamui’s near perfect aim. Before she could even process what had gone wrong, her vision flashed as Reina slammed her elbow into her temple and broke her concentration immediately. She did not fall, however. Instead of plummeting to the ground once again, Reina managed to wrap her fingers around Kamui’s thin neck and raise her in the air, looking her in the eyes with a morbid smile. 

“A shame. I could study the way you achieve flight for ages, but your life is over now.” Kamui clawed at Reina’s arm in an attempt to get her to release, but to no avail. She flailed her legs in the air and squeezed her eyes shut as she struggled for air. “No, no. Keep them open. I like to watch the light fade out.” 

Kamui couldn’t pray for a miracle a second time. No, she had to act now. She tried to grasp at her Yato’s hilt in its scabbard but found herself missing with every attempt at a grasp. She could try and crush Reina’s arm with her own enhanced strength, but there was no guarantee that she would be able to muster up the power needed. Truthfully, she only saw one surefire way out of this, though she truly would have to calm her nerves in order to be able to carry it out, and with her brain slowly starting to starve for air, it would be even more difficult. 

Kamui slowly opened her eyes and struggled to bring her hand in front of Reina’s still smiling face, forcing her heart rate to steady. She couldn’t be panicking right now. Reina simply thinned her eyes as her smile grew. 

_ Relax, relax, relax. It will be OK. You can do this. _

“After a blow to the head like that, your magic is—” 

Reina’s smile died when she saw the sparks emitting from Kamui’s hand. There was no time to scream or release the smaller woman or do anything but draw in a sharp breath of surprise.

Kamui was blown back through the air with an incredible force and struggled to catch herself on the thermals, but when she did, she caught a glimpse of a large plume of smoke in the same spot she had just been strangled, and with it several bits of flaming material slowly falling to the ground. She was only just able to see the black shape of the kinshi and its rider briefly plummeting before slamming against the stone below. Kamui soon found herself facing the same fate, as while she was gliding downwards, her body was rather unstable and she was unable to keep from wavering in her flight, resulting in her tumbling across the hard ground. 

If it weren’t for her armor protecting her, the princess would have suffered dozens of cuts and bruises from violently crashing into the rough stone. Even with it, however, she still sustained various scrapes and the like. Kamui lay on the ground in pain and drew in her aching wings. Though her vision was blurred, she could see that the amount of enemy kinshi in the sky were quickly decreasing. Though her body was screaming at her to remain immobile, she knew that she had to move fast. As such, she grunted and forced herself to her feet, scanning the area around her before laying eyes on her fallen assailant not far directly ahead from her. Immediately she began limping her way towards the woman, trying not to focus too much on the sounds of war around her. 

Before she could reach her target, Kamui felt a hand on her shoulder and whipped her head around only to be met with the horrified gaze of her youngest sister, a splash of blood staining her dress. “Kamui! You just fell from the sky! What the hell happened?” 

Kamui shrugged her off and continued forward. “G-good, you’re already here. I don’t have to call for someone. Follow me.” 

“Hold on, let me heal you!” Elise pleaded as her horse began to follow Kamui. “Your leg is hurt—you shouldn’t be putting any weight on it!” 

“We’ll deal with it afterwards!” Kamui barked. As they approached the corpse of the black kinshi, Elise realized just exactly what her sister was planning. The young woman urged Cottonbelle to advance and the horse galloped forward. While Kamui saw her eyes widen with a gasp, she did not see what exactly prompted it until she reached the spot herself. 

Reina’s kinshi had not survived, expectedly. Blood pooled beneath its lifeless body, but the more unnerving sight was that of its rider’s body. Reina lay on her back with her arms spread and her just barely open. At least, her remaining eye. What was left of Reina’s face was to be expected after having an explosion go off not even an arm’s length away. Much of the flesh from her scalp all the way to her chin on her left side had been blown away, exposing the bone of her eye socket as well as her teeth and gums. Despite this, she was still living, drawing in hoarse breaths every few seconds. The fact that she was in shock was evident from her shaking body, though she was still able to turn her eye to look upon Kamui’s face. To the princesses’ surprise, she spoke. 

“I-it seems…I was bested. I’ll b-b-be dead, soon…” 

“Stop trying to talk, you’ll be fine. Elise,” Kamui turned her attention to Elise, whose hands were still held over her mouth in surprise. She looked to her sister with a concerned expression. 

“Kamui, I…I don’t know if I’ll be able to do much about this. This is a lot of damage—” 

“Try,” Kamui interrupted as the pain in her leg flared and her stance wavered. “Please. Don’t let her die like this.” 

Biting her lip, Elise nodded before sliding off of Cottonbelle and kneeling to Reina’s side, the orb on her staff growing in tandem with her body as she carefully held her hands near the Hoshidan woman’s face. Kamui kept an eye on the surrounding area to make sure that they weren’t attacked, but it seemed as if their enemies were too concerned with searching for their fallen commander to realize that she was being tended to right in the open. Elise’s magic first mended the bone, restoring the cracked and splintered skeleton before bits and pieces of flesh began to grow from what remained and latched onto Reina’s skull. It was not as it was originally, however. There was only so much that a healing staff could do. The new skin was burned just as the skin it had grown from was and the flesh was not exactly taught, leading to Reina looking as if she had suffered a stroke.

“Why?” the woman asked in a hoarse voice, somehow holding onto consciousness. “What use is there in keeping me from death?” 

“What use is there in killing you?” Kamui answered without thinking. “I don’t like death. I hate it. It’s necessary in war, I know, but…if I can save you, then I’m going to do so, damn it. So stop complaining.” 

Elise looked to her sister with a frown. “That’s all I can do. She’ll need to go to a hospital and the burns aren’t going anywhere, but she’ll live.”

“Good.” Kamui took Reina by the hand and pulled the wounded woman to her feet, then grabbing onto her shoulders to stabilize her and looking her in the eye. “Listen well. You failed here, okay? There’s no need for anyone else to die. Call off your soldiers; retreat now and live to see another day.” 

Even with half of her face disfigured, Kamui could see that Reina was conflicted. She was not concerned, though. The Kinshi Knight posed no threat any longer, for her naginata had been abandoned and her bow had snapped from the impact of crashing into the stone. With her eyes aimed at the ground, Reina grit her teeth and balled her fist before reluctantly nodding. 

“You had better pray that your brother shows you the same mercy you have shown me.” 

With that, she took off as fast as she could past the pair of princesses and shouted to the nearest member of her army. The knight took off and spread the word like a virus, and soon, the Kinshi Knights of Hoshido had vacated the battleground, leaving behind a large amount of dead kinshi and some human corpses. 

After Kamui’s own wounds had been tended to, the Nohrians reconvened back at their convoy. The commander dismissed Hans to the astral plane as fast as she could, not holding any desire to put up with his antics for any longer than she had to. Once all was said and done, she could finally address her comrades frankly. 

“We’re all okay, yes? No injuries and certainly no casualties?”

“Ophelia here took a pretty nasty slash to her arm, but it was nothing Forrest couldn’t patch up in no time!” Soleil through her arms around those mentioned and pulled them together with her signature wide smile. The red-haired mage grimaced. 

“I fear that that is true. Unfortunately, I was caught off guard and an enemy appeared from the shadows. She managed to land a blow on me, though I made quick work of dispatching her! …With a sleep spell.”

Leo sighed and placed his hand on Mozu’s head, smiling. “This one would have become a pin-cushion if I didn’t protect her with a shield of roots. Come now, I thought Silas had trained you to be more perceptive than that?” 

Mozu blushed and covered her face. “I’m sorry! I wasn’t payin’ attention to what was above me! I was too focused on rescuin’ this fella I saw who was ‘bout to be torn apart by one of them birds!” 

“He’s only teasing, Mother,” Forrest assured her with a smile. Kamui let out a sigh of relief before continuing. 

“Good, we’re all safe. You know the deal. Lilith gets wood from the Astral Plane, the rest of us gather the bodies and one of the magic-users can light the pyre when everything’s ready. Get the birds, too.” 

Niles smirked. “So we’re having chicken for dinner tonight, eh? I admire your resourcefulness—Ow!” The archer clutched the spot in which his wife had punched him before giving a pained chuckle. “C-come on, Nyx. I’m only joking.”

Xander stepped forward and cleared his throat, ignoring Niles’ jape. “Ah…would you like me to divide everyone into groups this time around? You’re still hurt, I can tell. You should rest.” 

Refusing to meet his gaze, Kamui bit her lip and averted her eyes. Of course he was worried about her health—he was _ Xander _, her loving older brother. Yet, she could not help but feel as if there was an ulterior motive behind his words. He was correct regardless; Kamui did need to rest. The princess sighed and reluctantly nodded. 

“That would be nice, thank you. Lilith, I’ll come with you to the Astral Plane. Stay vigilant, everyone.” 

Lilith opened a portal to the aforementioned plane and gestured for Kamui to go through. Kamui stepped forward—never once looking at Xander—with a conflicted face. She so desperately wished to save her lost twin brother, but when it came to the older one, she simply could not bring herself to forgive him. She struggled to come up with a reason as to why. Corrin had tried to kill her on more than one occasion and she did not resent him for that, so why did it hurt so much with Xander? Was it the deception behind it all? The fact that she would have died without ever knowing the truth? Perhaps she was just a hypocrite. Regardless, she had no intention of accepting any sort of apology from him for a while. Besides, there were more important things to focus on at the moment. 

If the predictions that she and Peri had made days ago were accurate, then their next battle would be against Corrin himself.

* * *

“Why…_ why _did you engage?” 

Standing under the afternoon sun in the sky, Corrin stared down with a disappointed expression at Reina, who was kneeling before him with her head held low. They were taking a dirt road through a dense forest and the sounds of woodland animals and birds chirping could be heard all around them. His comrades stood all around them with varying reactions, Hinoka in particular looking rather distraught. It was no surprise, of course. Reina had been one of her most frequent instructors in her younger years. 

“Forgive me, my lord. It was a lapse in judgement. I saw an opportunity to end things before they could escalate and my gamble did not pay off. Many lives were lost…it was my fault.” 

“If that was your intention, then you would have been better off attacking when their guard was down. Not only would that give you a greater chance of success, but you would have suffered far less casualties even if you were still unsuccessful. Tell me the truth, Reina. You attacked simply to sate your own bloodlust, didn’t you? You haven’t been in a real fight in years.” 

Corrin couldn’t see it, but the older woman was biting her lip as sweat beaded down her forehead. She did not respond. 

“Tch. Of course you did…I hope you can live with yourself knowing that your thoughtless actions led to Hoshidan blood being spilled. Not only that, but the weakening of the Kinshi Knights is a substantial blow to our forces. I expect better from you, Reina.” Corrin shook his head and closed his eyes. “On your feet. I don’t have time to punish you at the moment; that’ll come when this is all over. I want you and your knights at the back of the group.” 

“Yes, my lord.” With her head still hung low, Reina skulked past everyone as she made her way farther and farther down the supply line, several pairs of eyes tracking her all the way. 

Corrin sighed. She had been sent ahead only to scout, but…regardless, he did not feel like his plans needed to be altered in any way. All that needed to be done was that his soldiers had to fight even harder to make up for the lost firepower. 

“Return to your positions, everyone. There won’t be any changes to our course of action.” 

The crowd broke up at once and after a signal, the coachmen of each of the carriages began to drive once again. Despite this, Corrin had opted to remain outside, sitting atop one of the carriages and tracing his finger along the Yato’s scabbard as he stared at the blue sky above. He was prepared for anything—no one would be getting the drop on him. No, not the Assassin Prince. 

Kagero appeared in a puff of smoke atop the carriage, her legs crossed and her eyes locked on her husband. He noticed her, of course, but did not say anything. 

“Corrin,” Kagero began. “I…forgive me if I’m forgetting my place, but—”

“Forgetting your place?” Corrin repeated. “You’re my wife, Kagero. We are equals.” 

“Right, right. I…I’m sorry, but I have to say it. You’ve changed, my love. It worries me.” 

Corrin’s breath paused for a moment before he slowly closed his eyes and blew air from his nose. “Ah…even you, I see.”

“E-even me?” Kagero asked with a hint of concern in her tone, biting down on her lip. “What do you mean?” 

“You aren’t the first one to bring this up to me, of course. Azura, Takumi…it hurts, you know.” Corrin took his eyes off of the clouds to look at his wife with a despondent frown. “I thought you of all people would surely understand. You do know what position we’re in, don’t you? We’re in the final stretch of a war that’s lasted years. Among our army, thousands of lives are at stake, and among Hoshido, millions. I can’t afford to be my usual happy-go-lucky self, Kagero. I—”

The woman’s eyes thinned. “I don’t know if that’s what you told your brothers and sisters, but you should know better by now than to pull that with me. I know when you’re lying.” 

Corrin blinked, taken aback by Kagero’s sudden defiance. “What are you talking about?” 

“Corrin, we are only trying to help you. We are all your friends and family; you can talk to us. You don’t have to lie to try and save face or whatever it is you’re doing. Ever since Izumo it’s as if you’ve been replaced with a clone. You’ve become cold, harsh, and—”

“I don’t need to be lectured _ again _.” 

“You are _ not _ the man I married,” Kagero said, angered. “Corrin, I will never stop loving you, but whatever it is that is going on up in your head, you can’t fight it alone. Do you think that killing your sister will help? Is that it? Tell me.”

Corrin bit his lip. “I am under no obligation to tell you anything. Not only am I the commander of the Hoshidan army, but also third in line for the throne. I outrank you.” 

“Outrank me? I am your WIFE, damn it!” Kagero leaned in with a glare. “Don’t speak to me like I’m one of your soldiers, for gods’ sake!”

“Aren’t you? You’re fighting in my army and following my commands, so it seems to me that that is exactly what you are.” Corrin looked away and grit his teeth, his hair casting his eyes in shadow. “You’re annoying me.” 

To Corrin’s surprise, Kagero promptly rose to her feet and balled her fists. “Would you stop acting like a petulant child for just a moment?! Talk to me! And if not me, then talk to _ someone _! I can tell that there is pain in your heart, Corrin, and all any of us wish to do is help you, and you’re refusing to let us! Do you want to suffer alone? Is that truly what you wish?” 

Corrin grit his teeth as the carriage hit a bump, though despite the rocking, Kagero remained perfectly balanced as expected. “You…you don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Then please, help me understand,” Kagero pleaded. “You can’t shut people out like this. Just…talk to me.” 

Despite his wife’s request, Corrin remained silent, instead opting to stare at the trees passing them by. What point would there be in telling her that he _ needed _to kill Kamui? All she would do is be horrified and likely run away from him. She couldn’t understand—no one could. They didn’t know what it was like. Your sister siding with the enemy, murdering someone that you loved in cold blood, only to then gradually be betrayed by those you trusted. Azura, Takumi, and now Kagero? Even Hinoka and Sakura had been looking at him strangely recently. As if he were some sort of monster. 

A thought dawned on the prince—he may have had the strength of his comrades at his disposal, but…how many of them _ truly _ believed in his cause? His breath faltered for just a moment; surely it was a majority of them. They had been fighting Nohr for years at this point, so surely their motivations wouldn’t have shifted simply because their leader had taken on a different rhetoric. Certainly they still believed they were carrying out proper justice. They were good people, they had to. Saizo, Subaki, Oboro, even the children like Matoi or his own daughters. He knew in his heart that they knew what had to be done to put an end to the bloodshed. 

Kagero wrinkled her nose when she realized that Corrin had no intention of saying a word back to her. She stared down at him in resentment before puffing her chest out and turning around with crossed arms. 

“Fine then. Act in what manner you deem fit. Just know that once this is all over, things aren’t just going to go back to the way they once were.” Kagero grimaced and shook her head. “You can’t ask that of people. Not anymore.” 

When Corrin heard the air bursting behind him, he knew that she was gone. He drew in his knees and wrapped his arms around them. 

He was alone once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I like this chapter. It's been a while since I've written a fight scene like that, not to mention Azura's breakdown at the beginning was very fulfilling to craft. Kind of fitting that I'm diving into themes of isolation during a pandemic, huh? Hope you'll all stick around for the next chapter, whenever I write that, and as always, have a good one~


	26. Dawn Breaks

As his wife slipped into her nightgown next to him, Takumi lied on his sleeping bag with his eyes closed, shirt off, and head resting on his hands. His long hair was tied up into a loose bun at the top of his head. He let the sound of Oboro’s humming and the tranquil chirping of crickets sooth him, his bare chest slowly rising and falling with every breath. 

Aside from the minor interruption from Reina and her Kinshi Knights, today’s journey had progressed far better than either Yukimura or Corrin had anticipated. In fact, they had made it an extra five kilometres, putting them closer to their goal than they thought they would be. Corrin of course had been greatly pleased, though for reasons he could not quite put his finger on, Takumi was not feeling as eager. 

Naturally he longed for the war to come to an end, and he assumed everyone else did as well. However…the atmosphere among the army lately had not been sitting well with him. Corrin had undergone a drastic change from the man he was once. After their meeting yesterday morning, Azura had become severely depressed. She rarely left her carriage and when she did it was only to sit on the grass in silence for a moment. He had seen Kaze attempting to console her, but it was as if her voice had been stolen away by a malevolent mage. She wouldn’t say a word. As for his siblings, Hinoka hadn’t been displaying her usual energy, Sakura always looked incredibly sad, and Ryoma…well, Ryoma hadn’t changed much from how he had been the past five years. Stoic. Seldom speaking a word and frequently sighing. He hadn’t been the same since Scarlet passed. 

What truly concerned him, though, was the children (he called them children, though many of them were fully grown adults). Some were their usual selves—Mitama was lethargic and sarcastic, Selkie boisterous and cheerful—while others seemed to be acting rather uneasy. Kotomi had been skittish, as if she could be taken out by an assassin at any moment. Kiragi was stumbling over his words more often. Even the usually gallant Matoi was strangely distant, as if she were keeping something from everyone. Takumi was sure that there was something amiss among them, but he knew that inquiring would be a fruitless endeavor. 

“Hey, are you good?” 

The young prince opened one eye to catch a glimpse of Oboro turning around to look down on him as she set her eyepatch down on the wooden crate they had repurposed as a small table. She stepped over to turn the lantern lighting the tent off, but paused, waiting for a response. 

“Hm? Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” 

“Are you sure? You’re usually more talkative at night.” 

Takumi could not find the words to respond. Instead, he found himself staring at the scar running down the right side of his wife’s face and through her closed eye. He knew that Oboro hated Nohr, and in his younger years, he had as well. It was a Nohrian girl that had taken from Oboro her parents and a Nohrian soldier that had rendered her blind in one eye, so he understood full well where her hatred stemmed from. 

Takumi sat up. “Hey, do you think we’re doing the right thing? With the war and all.” 

Oboro raised a curious brow and slightly inclined her head. “You mean fighting back against a tyrannical imperialist nation that constantly attacks our defenseless villages only to provoke us into fighting with them for what essentially amounts to no reason? Yes, Takumi. I think we’re doing the right thing.” 

“No, that isn’t what I mean, sorry.” Takumi sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’m talking about Corrin. You see the way he’s been acting for a while, right?” 

Oboro nodded. “Mhm. I mean, it’s only natural, don’t you think? Of course he’d be pissed after they killed Setsuna; you know how much she meant to him. Not to mention the fact that his sister brushed off his peace proposal without a second thought, right?” 

“Right. I get _ why _he’s like this, but I can’t help but feel like we’re not doing enough to help him. He’s my brother—shouldn’t I be there for him? Shouldn’t I be doing more to help him?” 

“I assume you’ve tried talking to him at least once, right? You wouldn’t be saying this if you hadn’t put any effort in.” 

Takumi bit down on his tongue as he harkened back to the day he had approached Corrin in his office. The image of his brother consumed by a purple miasma was burned into his memory and sent shivers down his spine. 

“Yeah, I have. Hey, do you remember back in Mokushu when you guys found me? You remember what I was like, right?” 

By this point, Oboro figured they would be talking for a while, so she lowered her arm from the lantern switch and took a seat on the ground. “I do. It was like you were possessed or something…we never did find out what that was all about, did we? It was a spell or something, wasn’t it?” 

Takumi shook his head. “No. Look, I can’t tell you exactly what it is right now, but I promise I will soon. I…a little while ago, back in Shirasagi, I went to go talk to Corrin about everything. Just to check up on him, you know? But he got so angry over me saying things I _ thought _were nothing. Eventually, that same energy that was around me appeared around him, only…he didn’t seem controlled by it.” 

Oboro thinned her eyes and leaned in curiously. “He was perfectly sound?” she asked. 

The prince nodded. “Mhm. His eyes were normal and everything. It was nothing like what happened to me—it was as he had completely accepted it. Embraced it, even. He didn’t let it take over his mind.” 

“…Well, what do you think that could mean?” Oboro chuckled and scooted closer to her husband. “I can’t exactly add much if you don’t tell me what it is, you know. Don’t worry, I trust you, I just don’t have much to add here.” 

Takumi smirked and exhaled through his nose; of course she was right, she didn’t know about Anankos or Valla. “Honestly, I don’t know what it means. It’s not like he’ll talk to anyone about it either. He just…pushes us all away.” 

“Remind you of anyone?” Oboro asked with a teasing inflection. Takumi could not help but snicker and ruffle her hair. 

“Please, I was a kid back then, cut me some slack. Really though, I’m not sure if anyone can get through to him. Maybe…maybe if Setsuna were still around.” 

The couple’s smiles promptly faded. Neither had ever been particularly close to the archer, though her presence was always a welcome one to uplift everyone’s spirits and raise morale despite her relatively calm demeanor. She was missed greatly. 

“Maybe.” 

Oboro rose to her feet to quickly turn the switch on the hanging lantern, casting the tent into darkness. She knelt down to place a gentle kiss on Takumi’s lips before making her way into her sleeping bag and getting comfortable. 

“Hey,” she began as Takumi returned to lying on his back. “We’re going to be alright, you know? We’re the good guys. It’ll all work out for us when everything’s said and done.” 

Takumi sighed and let his heavy eyelids shut and the thoughts in his mind drift away. 

“I can only hope you’re right.” 

Meanwhile, barely half a day’s journey away from the Hoshidan army, a princess was brushing her hair. 

Elise usually wandered around camp to tire herself out before she went to sleep, but upon hearing some rather venereal sounds coming from Camilla’s tent (Keaton was rather insatiable), the young woman opted to scurry back to her own and idly run her brush through her silky blonde hair as she stared at her own reflection in a small hand-mirror. 

At twenty-one, she was the youngest of the Nohrian royal family and it showed in her face. She usually had a healthy glow to her, what with her bright violet eyes and wide smile, though these days she appeared to be far less vibrant. Bags had started to form under her eyes and her perfectly pink lips had started to crack regardless of how much lipgloss she applied. Wrinkles were forming on her face and to her shock, she had found a single hair of gray in her brush earlier that day. This war was taking a toll mentally as well as physically, it seemed. 

The princess set down her brush and mirror with a sigh before stripping down from her clothes and smoothing out her lacey nightgown. Instead of putting it on and crawling into her bedroll, however, she found herself staring down at her own body. Elise smirked slightly. Countless men across all of Nohr would kill to have even the chance of laying a single finger on the young princess’ supple skin, though what they didn’t know was that hers was not the body of an innocent virgin. 

The most recent mark had come from the Kitsune girl they had encountered weeks ago on the road back from Izumo. Every time Elise laid eyes on the gnarly and jagged circular scar on her arm she could feel the immense force of the fox’s jaw clamping down on her, fangs piercing skin, flesh, and bone. The rest of the scars were much older. There was one small one right under her rib cage where she had been slashed with a rapier, one between her breasts where she had been struck with an arrow, and another long one on the back of her left thigh. That was where an axe had nearly severed her leg entirely, and one more swing likely would have if Arthur hadn’t come to her rescue by hurling a hand axe straight into the head of her assailant. 

Elise was one of the finest healers in all of Nohr, so she knew that she could have mended her scars whenever she wished. She could return to having her body match the one that was an object of desire for so many. Yet, never once did she have any intention to. 

Each scar served as a reminder. A reminder of what war brought. No one—not even the most optimistic—could go in and come out the same person, be that on the outside or the inside. Even someone like Niles, as much as he liked to put up a front, had been changed. There was once a time where he seemed to take pleasure in his work, but now, it was as if he only saw it as a necessary evil. He no longer took any joy in sending arrows into bodies or cutting throats. Oftentimes, he seemed…tired. 

Elise knew the feeling. There was once a time where she would gasp at the meer sight of blood whether it be from a foe or ally, but these days, there were only a handful of people that could elicit such a reaction from her. Seeing Kamui wounded, for instance, had made her heart pound in her chest. Yet in that same battle, as the corpses of giant birds and human beings fell from the sky, Elise felt…nothing. 

And that scared her. 

The princess shook the thought from her mind and pulled her nightgown over her head, concealing her scars from the eyes of the gods. She briefly reached for the switch of her lantern before pausing. She wasn’t tired at all and she had grown to loathe those nights in which she spent the hours lying restlessly in bed, impatiently waiting for sleep to claim her. After a moment of deliberation, she opted to say good night to her sister. She had not gotten the chance to since Kamui had gone to the Astral Plane immediately after the battle and they hadn’t seen one another since her return. Kamui seemed rather troubled when she left, so Elise figured that it would be best to check on her, even if her brain was screaming at her not to risk subjecting herself to the sounds of Camilla’s wanton cries. 

With her hands over her ears, Elise scurried out from her tent and hastily made her way over to where her other sister’s tent was. She could see the light coming from inside, so she knew she was still awake. Curiously, the tent flap was halfway unzipped. Elise put on a friendly smile before poking her head in. 

“Surprise~.” She said in a sing-songy tone, drawing the attention of her older sister. To her surprise, Kamui was completely alone with no sign of Silas anywhere. The princess donned a loose-fitting black silk nightgown and sat on her bedroll with a book in hand, an ear twitching and her eyes turning upwards when she heard Elise speak. Kamui smiled. 

“Hey, Elise. Do you need something?” 

“Nope! Just wanted to say good night!” The short blonde ducked into the tent with a giggle and threw her arms around her sister at once, then placing a tender kiss on her cheek. Kamui snickered in response. 

“Feeling affectionate tonight, aren’t we?”

“Mhm! Dunno why. Hey, where’s Silas?” Elise lifted the pillow and stared at the space under it, making her sister laugh once again. 

“He stepped out for a moment to talk to Sophie and Kana. Tell me, have you been alright sleeping by yourself? I know Forrest offered to share a tent with you.” 

Elise nodded vigorously. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. To tell you the truth, I _ hate _going to sleep with other people in their room. All the tossing and turning makes it hard for me to drift off—and don’t even get me started on people who snore.” 

“You would hate being around Silas when he’s sleeping, then,” Kamui said with a chuckle. “That man snores as if he has to let everyone know that he’s asleep lest his heart stop.” The princess adjusted herself in her seat and drew in her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs and leaning forward. As she moved her legs, the hem of her gown fell ever so slightly and revealed just a bit more of her thigh. Elise wasn’t sure just what it was that drew her gaze downwards. When she did, however, she could not help but notice the slightest hint of a thin scar peeking out from under her nightgown. 

“Hey, that’s new. Where’s that one from?” Elise asked as she pointed to the mark in question. Kamui raised an eyebrow and leaned to get a better look at what it was Elise was talking about. The movement from doing so was enough to drop the hem of the gown slightly further, and it was then that Elise thinned her eyes. The scar was incredibly thin, too thin to have been made by even a rapier—not to mention the fact that a scar from any sort weapon would have been much more jagged. This mark was small and perfectly straight, almost surgical in appearance. The fact that it was still red told Elise that it was a fairly recent development as well. 

The color drained from Kamui’s face when she realized what her sister was talking about. She instantly straightened her legs out and pulled her gown down, the straps digging into her shoulders. “It’s nothing.” She blurted. Elise never thought that Kamui was a very good liar.

Elise’s brow furrowed even further as she grew more and more suspicious. “Nothing?” she repeated. “I don’t buy that. What happened? Were you scratched by a stray cat or something?” It was a silly suggestion—there would have been multiple marks in that case and it was not as if any sort of stray cat would be in Muspelheim to begin with—but Elise found herself clinging to that explanation. 

“No. I don’t know how it got there. I must have scratched myself in my sleep.” Kamui was biting her lip, her eyes darting around the room and tiny beads of sweat starting to appear on her rapidly heating face. 

“I don’t believe you,” Elise said with concern palpable in her voice as she reached out towards Kamui. The general recoiled and scooted away, making it so that Elise couldn’t lay a finger on her. “Let me see. It looks minor enough that I can heal it without a staff.” 

Kamui shook her head. “No.” 

Elise began to encroach closer to her sister, crawling on her hands and knees. “Kamui, just let me see.” 

“Elise,” Kamui stared at the young girl with wet, pleading eyes. “Please.” 

They sat like that for several moments as if time had frozen around them, a pair of sisters gazing into each other’s eyes. Elise could not say for sure just what it was that Kamui was trying to hide, but the only explanation that stuck in her mind gave her a sickening feeling. But…this was Kamui, after all. Kamui was strong. Surely Elise was wrong in her assumption—there had to have been a perfectly reasonable explanation for the scar and a perfectly reasonable explanation for why she was reacting with such apprehension. 

Elise pounced. 

Kamui yelped and attempted to rise to her feet to get away, though Elise was able to take hold of her ankle before she could, resulting in the elder princess falling on her stomach as her younger sister tried to get on top of her. The commander twisted her body and thrashed enough to throw Elise off of her. Now that she was free, she immediately began to head towards the tent’s exit once more with a terrified urgency on her face. Gritting her teeth, Elise extended her hand towards Kamui and manifested motes of purple light before her that quickly rushed over to Kamui and phased into her body, causing her to let out a cry of pain. Her muscles briefly tensed before relaxing right after, which made her crumple to the ground. It was only a simple enfeeblement spell, though Elise knew that casting it without her staff would make it last only a few moments. That on top of Kamui’s seemingly natural resistance to magic made it so that she had no time to spare in acting. She sprung to her feet and hastily straddled Kamui’s waist, pinning a single arm down with one hand and reaching for the hem of her gown with another. Kamui’s wide eyes were filled with terror. Before Elise managed to take hold of her clothes, the princess began to flail around once again, begging her sister to stop what she was doing as tears welled in her eyes. All of Kamui’s movements naturally revealed just what Elise had been dreading, albeit briefly, and the young blonde drew in a sharp breath when she laid eyes on what she feared most. 

Elise reflexively let loose another enfeeblement spell to still the restless form of her older sister just for a moment, which was all the time she needed to grab onto her gown and lift it above her waist. Her heart shattered at once—a familiar feeling. She felt the same sense of horror when Corrin had taken those first steps away from Xander all those years ago. Marring the milky white skin of both of Kamui’s thighs were dozens upon dozens of thin cuts across her flesh, some long, some small. The way they were positioned made it evident that they were not put there by a mistake of some sort—they were stacked on top of each other as neatly as the papers on Kamui’s desk back home. Some were a bright red while the color of others had long since faded, indicating that while many were fresh, most had been there for days or even weeks. Some closer to her pelvis looked to be rather faded…were those perhaps years old? 

“Kamui…” Elise breathed, gawking at the hideous scars blemishing her sister’s skin. “Gods, what did you do…?” 

Tears spilled forth from Kamui’s crimson eyes and she quickly sheltered her face from Elise’s gaze with her arms, trembling under the light weight of the girl. “D-Don’t look at me,” she choked out. “Just go. Please.”

Slowly, Elise reached down to gently brush her fingers against those wretched markings on her sister’s skin, her breath catching in her throat upon contact. There were just…so many of them. 

“Why?” Elise asked in a small voice. “I don’t understand. Tell me.”

But Kamui did not speak. No, she did not say a word at all. She simply laid on her back with her arms shielding her face as she tried her best not to cry too hard. Elise’s face grew more and more red as the seconds ticked by.

“Talk to me!” 

“I can’t!” 

The words exploded from Kamui as she removed her arms and revealed her face, pink and damp with her tears. “I c-can’t take it, it’s too much! It’s all too much!” She began to shake her head, her breaths coming in short, shallow, and staggered. Elise stared down at her sister with despair, her own tears now rolling down her face and her mouth hanging open. 

Before either of them could say another word, the fabric of the tent was rustled as Silas burst in with an alert expression. “Kamui!” His eyes met Elise’s and the knight froze at once when he took in the scene before him. Elise atop her sister, Kamui’s nightgown raised to expose her hashed legs, both sisters crying. His face took on a frown immediately. “Oh. Gods. Elise, I—” 

“Did you know?” the princess accused. She rose to her feet and hastily approached the man with anger in her eyes. “Did you know that she was hurting herself?” 

Silas winced and averted his eyes, almost immediately turning his gaze to his sobbing wife. “Could you step out for a moment? Please. I’ll talk to you in just a second.” Elise did not even get a chance to give a response before Silas stepped right past her and knelt down to Kamui, fixing her dress, putting his hand on her arm and starting to console her with words of reassurance. Elise pressed her lips together. She was still fuming, however, not wishing to make a voyeur of herself, she forced her legs to carry her outside of the tent before pressing her back firmly against a nearby tree. 

Had it not been for the thoughts casting a dense fog on her mind, she knew she would have been compelled to listen in on whatever it was that was being said in that tent. Elise grit her teeth and focused on the aching in her heart; how could this have been going on right under her nose? She was supposed to be a beacon of hope for all of her siblings to lean on and confide in. Each one of them had talked to her extensively about the strife and conflicts they faced, whether it be externally or within themselves, and she had always thought that she had done exemplary work in helping them through it. She was supposed to be there for her brothers and her sisters and she had failed. 

Kamui had been slashing away at her body for gods know how long. Regardless of what the reason for it was, Elise wanted to punch herself for not being able to deduce that something was amiss earlier. Kamui had worn a mask for her entire life even around Elise in her younger years, but at this point, she thought that they would always be open and honest with each other. A dark expression grew on the young girl’s face. How could she not see just how much her sister was suffering? How did she not pick up on a single sign? Every instance where she offered words of comfort or advice over the past few years—were they completely and utterly ineffective? Had she ever truly helped her? 

Elise was on the verge of crying once again before Silas stepped out of the tent and stared at her with a frown. He rubbed on the back of the neck and drew his foot along the ground, at a loss for words. 

“Elise, I—” 

“How long?” Elise shot him an accusatory look as she wrapped her arms around her body and squeezed. 

He sighed. “Year and a half,” he whispered. A shudder ran down Elise's spine; she’d gone a year and a half without suspecting a thing. “Do you remember that day where King Ryoma gave his speech in Shirasagi on the anniversary of Scarlet’s death? She read about it in the newspaper and…well. It had an effect on her.” 

“_T__hat’s _ putting it lightly,” Elise spat. “Does anyone else know? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“No, and it’s because she doesn’t want anyone to know. Why would she want to worry any of you? Not to mention the fact that she thinks people would look down on a general reduced to self-harm.” 

“And what have you been doing to help her? It’s been so long that it can’t have been much.” 

Silas balled his fists. “Hey, lay off. You don’t think that I’ve been trying? She’s my _ wife_, for the gods’ sake; I’d do anything I could to make her happy. It isn’t as easy as you think it is.” He let out a shaky breath and ran his fingers through his silver hair. “No matter what I say to her, she just tells me she’s okay and then it’s back to the same thing the next week. I _ wish _ that I could just make it all go away, but I can’t. I don’t know what can. I don’t know if anything can.” 

“Of course there’s a way, there always is.” Elise bit her lip so hard that she nearly broke skin, her entire body trembling. “She just…she has to be open and honest with us. That’s the only way that we can help her, right?” 

“That’s the thing. I think she has been—with me, at least. But no matter what I say to her or how much I comfort her, it’s like she forgets it all the very next day. Nothing ever sticks, as if she doesn’t _ want _ to believe me. Like…she doesn’t think that she deserves to be happy.” 

Elise’s knees buckled for just a moment. That was it. Kamui had always been the most self-deprecating person she knew even when they were children. She would harshly reprimand herself for any faults in her combat technique, drill noble etiquette and mannerisms into her mind like her life depended on it, and refuse any form of praise given to her by someone that wasn’t her direct superior. Ever since the war had begun things had only gotten worse, clearly. It made Elise’s heart want to burst just thinking of the kind of guilt that must have been eating away at her sister’s mind. 

“Look, it’d be best if you just let this be for now and went to sleep. You can talk to her about it later if you want, but we’ve probably got a big fight coming up tomorrow. It wouldn’t be good to stress her out too much before then; it could mean the difference between someone living and dying. You’re concerned, obviously, but…I’ll take care of it, alright?” 

Elise frowned; how could he expect her to just let something as serious as this pass? Despite this, she found herself reluctantly nodding her head and clutching her chest. 

“I understand. Please, just…make sure that she knows that I’m there for her always, okay? I need her to know that.” 

Silas gave a small smile. “I’m sure she already does.” 

After bidding one another a good night, Silas returned to his shared tent and Elise began to drag her feet back to her own, her face still dark. Her sister was in so much pain…and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. 

Elise did not get much sleep that night.

* * *

“Approaching from the west, my lord.” 

The words were like music to Corrin’s ears. The instant Kaze appeared at his side in a puff of smoke and spoke, a twisted smile crept along the Assassin Prince’s face. He rose to his feet from a squatting position and turned his head to look back on the small army behind him. 

The Hoshidan Army was stationed near the edge of the Jotunheim region—a rocky and barren territory adjacent to Muspelheim to the west and Asgard to the south. Directly east was the Bottomless Canyon, the place where Corrin’s life had taken a drastic turn all those years ago. Jotunheim was a small yet mountainous region, and in this particular area there stood towering pillars of smooth stone. Many were pointed, though most were flat at their peak. It was at the very top of one such obelisk that Corrin stood with Kaze at his side. 

“How far from crossing into the terrain?” Corrin asked with just a hint of excitement in his tone. 

“They should be taking the main road, as it is the only feasible way for such a large party to progress through the area, especially with their horses and carriages, as you know. By my estimates, they’ll be crossing the threshold…right about now.” 

“Good.” Without so much as a bend of his legs, Corrin stepped off of the pillar and landed immaculately on his feet, immediately approaching three individuals in particular who were all standing together. 

Hayato had grown to be quite handsome, to most people’s surprise. The once cherubic boy had grown into a tall and muscular man with straight chestnut hair falling down to the middle of his back. While he still donned light-fitting garbs befitting of his tribe, he also wore a necklace of large black beads constructed from wood—an accessory worn by only the most respected members of his wife’s own tribe. Rinkah stood behind him and Rhajat, as physically fit as ever and still forgoing clothing in favor of chest-binding bandages. As for how her appearance had evolved, the red portion of her hair was now rather long, reaching down to the nape of her neck. In addition to this, she had also earned two more red lines across her face—one on each side—presumably as a sort of ceremonial marking. 

“We’re up?” Hayato asked, his voice low and husky. When Corrin nodded in response, he looked down to his daughter and grinned. “Just like we practiced, eh, sweetheart?”

Rhajat kissed her teeth and recoiled away. “I’m a year older than you; don’t talk down to me…” 

“Hey, watch your tone,” Rinkah scolded, only succeeded in even further annoying the young diviner. 

“Whatever.” Rhajat grabbed Hayato’s hand and the two closed their eyes. Moments later, they each took a deep breath perfectly in sync with one another. When they exhaled, thick fog was released from their noses and settled onto the ground, growing more and more as the seconds ticked on. Eventually, the entire area was completely cast in fog, impairing everyone’s vision. 

Orochi cleared her throat. “Okay, everyone!” she called. “I need you all to close your eyes for the next minute or so, alright? This will only work if they’re closed, so make sure you do it!”

While he loathed taking orders from people, Corrin knew that he had to oblige. As such, he buried his pride for the time being and closed his eyes. All was silent save for the sound of Orochi muttering her incantations and the low hum of magic in motion. Corrin had never truly understood magic, but when Kara suggested this tactic to him the day prior, he couldn’t very well refuse—especially not when he found out that Hayato, Orochi, and Rhajat could accomplish such a feat with ease. 

While their prior ambush had not been completely successful, they had ultimately achieved their goal of subduing Kamui for the time being—and that was truly all Corrin cared about. Those were different circumstances, however. That was a skirmish. This? This would be a _ battle_, a battle in which Hoshido had the advantage. With their strength in numbers and superior strategy, it was a surefire victory. Even if Nohr retreated with Kamui among them, at the very least Corrin was sure to wet his blade with the blood of Nohr. 

“Alright, open up!” 

When she opened her eyes, Kotomi found that her vision had been practically completely cleared up. She knew that fog was covering the lenses of her glasses, but even then she could see perfectly. She pushed them up on her forehead briefly and found that while the fog was very clearly still there, she had no trouble at all making out the faces of her comrades. She quickly noticed that everyone’s eyes now glowed a bright shade of green, shining like emeralds. 

Goosebumps made their way along the young girl’s skin when she caught a glimpse of her father quietly snickering to himself, his disheveled white locks casting his eyes in shadow. It was difficult to pull her attention away from Corrin to look at Ryoma, who cleared his throat before addressing his army. 

“I thank you all once more for lending your strength to your motherland. While our presence may be obscured to the enemy, I advise that you remain vigilant and do try to stay out of the enemy’s direct line of sight. They will be able to see you if you get too close.” The king drew his sword and held it to the sky in a valiant gesture, and yet his face remained utterly devoid of any signs of zeal. “This is an ambush, so refrain from battle cries of any sort. Steel your nerves, fight with vigor, and may the gods cast down their mercy on your souls. With that being said…fight, my soldiers.” 

It was a strange sight to see such a large brigade of soldiers advancing so quietly, but an even stranger sight was that of her father in a full laughing fit, a dagger in his hands and his eyes turned toward the sky. He simply stood there, laughing for what seemed like ages before finally calming down and running his fingers through his hair, a wide grin still plastered onto his face. 

“Mother. Mother, Mother, Mother. And Setsuna, too. Sweet, sweet Setsuna.” He spoke at the pace of a horse galloping at full speed, so fast that Kotomi could barely make out what he was saying. When he next spoke, though, he was slow and meticulous, each syllable dragged out and enunciated so that no one could possibly mishear him. 

“Oh, how the ghost of you clings.” 

Kotomi watched her father take off to the sky and disappear from sight. 

Meanwhile, bewilderment ran rampant throughout the ranks of Nohr. The air around them had been perfectly clear up until a few moments ago when it became overtaken by fog. Fog was common in this area, but usually at a higher elevation. It should not have been so dense this far down. 

“Stay close, my lady,” Arthur advised his liege as he placed a protective hand on her shoulder. “We know not what lurks beyond this smokescreen.”

Leo gestured to his retainer. “Odin, try clearing out this fog. It’s dangerous to progress like this.” 

“Leave it to Odin Dark!” The sorcerer flipped open to a particular page in his thick tome and pitched his hand out, calling forth the power of wind. Galewinds came flying from his hand and dispersed the fog briefly, though it rolled right back in just as quickly as it had gone. “Fie! This bothersome plume is rather vexing!” 

Sophie frowned and looked down on her mother from the back of her steed, Avel. “Should we turn back and wait it out? It’s not like the road ahead is exactly smooth.” 

Kamui said nothing. Instead, she simply stared into space. Sophie could tell that she was tired from the dark crescents that hung under her eyes, but even then she was usually more alert. “Hey, mom?” 

“Hm?” Kamui snapped her attention to her daughter and blinked several times. “Oh, I’m sorry. I…I don’t know.”

Next to them, Kana stood with his knuckles white from gripping his sword so tightly. If he were clenching his jaw any harder, he swore his teeth would crack. An overwhelming feeling of dread weighed heavily on his body and made him feel nauseous, as if he were getting vertigo from peering over the edge of one of Valla’s floating isles. 

The queen-to-be looked around to get a sense of exactly where she was before sighing and turning to her husband. “We probably want to retreat for now. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Xander.”

Xander nodded. “Understood, Charlotte. If that is what you think is best, then I am not one to turn down your advice.” He turned on his horse and cleared his throat before shouting to the air, projecting his voice across his entire army. 

“Men! Turn around and maintain your marching pace! We’ll be turning back for the time being and continuing our advance when the weather permits. It’s far too dangerous to advance now. March!” 

“Well, I guess that’s a pretty big setback,” Effie mumbled, crossing her armored arms, “but he’s right. Make sure Cottonbelle watches her step.” 

“Right…” Elise sighed, gesturing for Cottonbelle to turn around and begin to walk back the way they came. Despite his clear disappointment, Arthur tried to maintain an optimistic smile. He walked backwards to maintain eye contact with the women by his side.

“Fret not, my dearest wife, my lady! It is for the sake of safety! It would be rather unfortunate if someone were to step right into a crevice and end up losing a leg, would it not?” 

A small smile appeared on Elise’s face. Arthur may have been an oaf, but he always tried to make the best of every situation. She liked that as a child, and that was precisely why she chose to appoint him as her retainer. 

“Of course. Thank you, Arthur.” 

Arthur’s smile widened, and that was when she saw a glint of silver and a thin red line appear on his neck. 

Neither Elise nor Effie processed it at first, maintaining those same small smiles that they had had on. It was only when the man’s grin faded and he began to stumble back—clutching at the wound that was now spewing blood and staining the stone red—that their eyes widened in horror and Elise let out a blood curdling scream. 

“**ARTHUR**!” The princess screamed as she extended her hand toward him. Effie was screaming as well, quickly kneeling to cradle her husband in her arms as gurgled on his own thick blood. Her thoughts were deafening, but she knew that all was not lost. She was a healer. Healers saved people. With that mantra echoing in her mind, she squeezed the handle of her staff and focused all of her magical ability into her free palm. It started to glow white, but she was abruptly ripped out of range by something stealing her clean off of her horse’s back. 

“NO!” she shouted, kicking her feet helplessly as she was pulled further and further away from her retainers, soaring through the air. “LET ME GO! LET ME GO, DAMN IT! ARTHUR!!!” 

Elise’s plea was heeded and she was promptly tossed onto the stone ground, skidding across it and suffering several cuts and bruises from that alone. While her dress was torn and she was certain that her shoulder had been knocked out of its socket during her tumble, she forced herself to stand up and frantically look around for her assailant, panting all the while. 

From the fog emerged a woman sat atop a pure white pegasus clad in elegant armor, her head of long coral hair being her most distinguishing feature. Elise recognized her. This was…Princess Sakura’s daughter.

Matoi presented the blade of her silver naginata and looked down on the Nohrian with disdain. “Surrender now and your life will be spared.” 

Elise stared into the knight’s amber eyes in rage, speaking through grit teeth. “_Move,_” she demanded, inching closer to her. It was an unusual fierceness for the girl. She was physically rather weak and had only taken about a month’s worth of magic lessons from Kamui two years prior, meaning that aside from her durable staff, she had no way to protect herself. She had always relied on those around her to make sure that she was unharmed. None of that mattered to her in the moment, though. She had to get to Arthur before it was too late. 

The ghost of a frown forced itself onto Matoi’s face. “So be it, then.” 

Even as she stepped into range of the naginata and the weapon was pulled back in preparation for a strike, Elise continued to advance. It did not matter that she was injured—she _ would _ find her way back to Arthur and Effie even if it meant her life. 

Matoi would have brought her weapon down clean through Elise’s chest had it not been for a Nohrian soldier rushing in at the last moment and shoving the tip of his lance through the hide of the pegasus, the mare whinnying in pain before falling down and crushing its rider under the weight of its flank. With trembling arms, a wide grin spread across the soldier’s face. He had to have been around Elise’s own age—perhaps younger—with a round face and soft features. He did not belong on the battlefield. 

“P-Princess!” he shouted, extending his arm towards Elise. “I did it! I saved you! Are you okay? S-stay with me, I’ll protect you!”

“Go,” Elise said as she shook her head. “I can heal myself just fine; I’ll be okay. You need to get out of here now. Find a group and stick with them.” 

The boy’s smile faded. “B-but Princess, it’s my duty to protect you! I have to—” his words were abruptly silenced as Matoi’s stinging blade embedded itself into his exposed neck. Elise winced as blood began to cascade down the boy’s body and stain his armor red before he promptly fell to the stone ground, lifeless. Matoi stood with anger on her face, though Elise noted that she was favoring one leg as she approached with a killing intent. 

Elise grit her teeth and manifested an orb of pink flames in her palm. The attack was small, but it was all she had at her disposal. She chucked the fire at her assailant with a grunt and watched as it hurled through the air only to dissipate contact with the Hoshidan’s steel breastplate. Now, Elise was thinking that she should have applied herself more when it came to studying offensive magic. 

Luckily for her, yet another savior arrived just in the nick of time, however, this one was rather unexpected. Instead of another one of Nohr’s soldiers or one of her personal comrades coming to rescue her, she bore witness to a pair of cloven hooves clashing into the temple of Matoi and immediately knocking her to the ground. Elise was not quite sure if she was unconscious or not, but regardless, she was safe. The princess smiled at her steed before she gave a hearty whinny. 

“You’re the best, girl.” She winced as she put a foot in the stirrup and hoisted herself onto Cottonbelle’s back, settling down onto the cushioned saddle. Cottonbelle took off blindly into the fog in the direction she had come from and Elise gave a silent prayer that Arthur was still of this world. 

Meanwhile, Corrin was toying with his little sister’s remaining retainer. Effie viciously swung her lance at him with a fire in his eyes and all Corrin did in retaliation was bob and weave to avoid each attack. It was a skill he had picked up from Felicia, who seemed to be completely incapable of ever being struck by an enemy. The sight of tears in Effie’s eyes brought a smile to his face—it was a joy bringing sorrow to the wicked. 

“You bastard!” she cried before jabbing forward, Corrin simply turning to the side to avoid being skewered. “I’ll kill you! You won’t get away with this!” 

The prince found himself laughing. Him? A bastard? For snuffing out the life of someone who could support a villain such as Kamui? How ridiculous. 

In a single fluid motion, Corrin drew a dagger across Effie’s face twice, one cutting up and across her cheek as well as severing the bridge of her nose while the other was even deeper, cutting down the opposite cheek. The blade had even managed to wedge itself between her molars and cut into her gums. The knight shrieked in pain, but nevertheless continued her unyielding assault. 

Effie attempted to pierce through Corrin’s armor with another jab, but the prince found himself growing tired of this pointless dance. He seized one of Effie’s hands with his own draconic one and squeezed, effortlessly snapping her bones and stealing her spear away from her before quickly turning it around and forcing it through her armor. It was like shoving a pencil through paper. The knight instantly hacked up blood and Corrin had to shield himself with a wing to prevent it from getting on his face. His twisted smile grew as she cried out in pain when he twisted the flat blade for good measure, bringing her to her knees with her mouth agape. 

“Rot.” 

The consciousness faded from the woman and the sheer weight of her own armor made her collapse onto the ground as blood began to pool under her body. Corrin reveled in the sight. He had managed to eliminate both of Elise’s retainers in under a minute. Had he still been a Nohrian, he would have been ashamed; _t__his _was the standard for the retainers of their royalty? With a shake of his head, he simply turned around and zeroed on his next target: A meek looking mage girl stumbling around the fog-covered battlefield like she had been blinded. He had yet to satiate his lust for justice. 

Elsewhere, a family had been separated soon after the fog set in. 

“Hey, you still with me?” Sophie asked, her eyes darting around what little of the area was visible to her. She could hear the usual sounds of war—screaming, the hum of magical spells, metal on metal—but could not see a thing. Next to her, though his knees were trembling, her little brother nodded. 

“I’m here,” he said, his knuckles white from gripping the hilt of his sword so tightly. Kana was terrified. One of the first things he did when their visibility vanished was call for his mother, and when he received no response, dread began to set in. Where was she? Where was _ anyone_? 

“Stay close.” Sophie gently tapped her boot on Avel’s flank and the horse began a slow trot forward, Kana having to speedwalk to keep up. The fog couldn’t have stretched far; if they retreated the way they had come, surely they would escape its range in no time provided that they did not run into anything. However, with the visibility of both themselves and their allies so low, that was bound to happen. A body emerged from out of nowhere and slammed its helmed head into Avel’s side. Frightened, the horse flailed about briefly as both its rider and her brother screamed in shock. 

It took Kana a moment to realize that the corpse had a little girl attached to it, her knees on its abdomen and her sword buried in its chest. There was a ferocity shown through her bared sharp teeth and her vibrant green eyes that seemed to be glowing in the fog. Her white hair was tied in a bun and the armor she donned was reminiscent of what Kamui used to wear in her younger years. In fact, both Kana and Sophie thought that the girl looked _ strikingly _ similar to their mother. 

Kana drew in a sharp breath and his eyes widened. This was Corrin’s daughter—his cousin. Kara. 

Kara withdrew her blade from the soldier’s chest and sprung to her feet, assuming a combat ready stance and staring down the brother-sister pair. “You two…you’re that monster’s kids, aren’t you? Your eyes give it away!” 

“And you’re Uncle Corrin’s,” Sophie whispered as she slowly raised her hands in the air once Avel had settled down. “Kara, right? Hey, listen. We’re family, you know? We don’t have to fight. Turn around right now and we won’t have to hurt each other at all.” 

Kana shot his sister a shocked look; what the hell was she trying to do? 

“You’re not my family! Your mama is the reason my Papa is hurting right now!” Kara shook her head and squeezed down on her sword’s handle as she began to approach the siblings. “So I have to beat you both. For Papa!” 

Neither one of them had enough time to get any more words out before the little Hoshidan girl lunged at them with a palpable killing intent. She targeted Avel first, as eliminating him would have left Sophie without a mount. Her thrust was immediately redirected to the side by the flat Kana’s own blade slamming into her sword, briefly knocking her off balance. Sophie seized the opening by reversing her lance in her hands and slamming the blunt end of the weapon into Kana’s chest. The attack sent her falling backwards, but miraculously, she managed to sprout her wings and take to the air before she could hit the ground. She was fast. Just like her father.

The siblings stared as she briefly hovered in the air before taking a deep breath, shouting “DIE!” before releasing a large fireball from her mouth as if she were a dragon straight out of the old legends. The inferno raced towards the Nohrians with such velocity that they barely managed to jump out of the way at the last second. The flames crashed into the ground and exploded, leaving a charred splotch of black in its wake. Before they could even process anything, Kara barreled down from above and managed to land a direct hit on Kana, shoving her blade right through a chink in his armor and piercing his shoulder clean through. 

“No!” Sophie cried. On instinct, she swung her lance and smacked the handle right into Kara’s face, dazing her enough so that Sophie was able to lean forward and sweep her legs out from under her with her weapon. This time, she hit the ground. “Kana, your shoulder!” 

“I’m fine,” the boy said through gritted teeth as he clenched at his wound. Though the pain was immense, he knew that there were far bigger problems on their hands. Kara had already recovered from her fall and cast another ball of flames towards Kana, this time smaller. He managed to dive out of the way in time and turned his head to watch the flames disappear into the fog and presumably hit some unfortunate soul who would have no idea what had happened to them. 

Kara saw, though. She could see everything. Her flames slammed into a stone pillar just behind Sophie at the base and exploded on contact, taking with it the bottom of the obelisk. An excited smile flickered onto her face as she watched the pillar come crashing down. Sophie screamed as both she and Avel were hit with an immense force out of nowhere, and moments later, both were pinned beneath nearly a ton of stone. 

“Sophie!” Kana ran over to his sister’s side and that was when Kara knew that she had won. She hadn’t learned much magic over the years (Rhajat had only taught her the basics in passing), but what she had was clearly effective enough. All she had to do was hit him with one fireball and she would have lightened the burden on her father’s shoulder if only just slightly. The thought filled her with glee, and with that in mind, she enthusiastically conjured up another ball of flames in her palm and reeled her arm back. She never got to cast it towards the siblings, though. Her magic dissipated when she felt a cold, sharp pain in the back of her neck.

She wanted to reach back and feel for what had struck her, but when she tried, she found that she could not move her arms. Her legs failed her the next moment as well and she fell flat on her face. The moment after that, her vision rapidly faded to black, and with it her consciousness left her as well. 

Kana slid across the ground and tried his damndest to push the stone off of his sister and as well as Avel, but to no avail. Sweat beaded down his brow and his veins bulged in his forehead. Alas, the sheer weight of the rock as well as the fact that the pain in his shoulder made him want to scream made his efforts fruitless. Sophie groaned and coughed blood onto the ground, her eyes half open. 

“You’re v-vulnerable,” she choked out as she put an armored hand on her brother’s arm. “And hurt. You have to go.” 

“Absolutely not!” Kana shouted in response, pushing even harder on the pillar. “I’m not going to leave you here to die, you idiot!” 

“You can’t m-move it! Get out of h-here!” Sophie spat back. Every breath she took was painful. The pillar had knocked Avel unconscious (she prayed that that was all it had done) and was resting firmly on her side. It was as if her organs alone were being put under the pressure of the seafloor. She could feel that aside from her cracked ribs, she had broken her hip as well as her arm. She knew that there was no coming back from this. 

Kana didn’t respond. Tears veiled his sight as he continued to push with all of his might. Suddenly, he felt the pillar shifting slightly and his eyes widened; this was not his doing alone. The young boy looked to his side and saw a chestnut-haired teenage girl on her knees next to him, pink glasses with a cracked lens sitting on her face. Her jaw was clenched as well as she pushed hard against the fallen pillar. 

“Channel your draconic strength,” she grunted, squeezing her eyes shut. “Just like how your mother does! It’s our only chance!” 

While he was confused, Kana blinked and nodded before turning his attention back to the task at hand. His mother may have been able to display impressive feats of strength by using the same physical power she had while in her dragon form, though Kana had never before attempted to do the same. Now, however, it was the only way he was going to rescue his sister. With a cry of exertion as his head pounded in pain, the boy pretended that he was a dragon and pushed with the same force he would in that state. To his surprise, the pillar rolled off of his sister’s body and slammed into the ground. 

Kana did not get the chance to celebrate before he found himself presented with the limp body of Kara, a long silver needle protruding from the back of her neck. The taller Hoshidan girl pinched the needle between two fingers and gently withdrew it before tossing it to the ground and setting Kara’s body down. 

“Get them both somewhere safe, okay? Behind a big pillar. If you can’t find one, then run as far away from here as you can get. Try not to get close to anyone if you can.” 

Kana did not know just who this girl was, but he found herself staring into her vibrant green eyes and was compelled to obey, almost as if he were being hypnotized. 

“And remember, you might not be able to see anyone, but everyone on our side can see you just fine. Be wary, stay safe, and move fast.” 

Before Kana could say anything in response, the girl had disappeared into the fog and left him with two unconscious girls to deal with. The boy balled his fists and nodded with determination. He clutched at his dragonstone and transformed at once, lowering his neck and hoisting both bodies over his back. They could not hold on by themselves, so he knew that he had to remain careful yet swift as he bounded through the dense fog and treacherous pillars. With that knowledge in mind, he took off in the direction that he and his sister were initially going and prayed that he would be able to rescue at least one life today. 

Meanwhile, Hoshido’s king cut sharp arcs of lightning through the air with the blade of his legendary regalia. Every swing and thrust was mirthless; he slashed through any Nohrian soldier that dared to come near as if he were a simple farmer scything down overgrown grass. Between every grunt of effort Ryoma kept on the same stoic face he had grown to be known by. Stone-cold and without feeling. That was Ryoma. 

An axman charged forward and Ryoma made quick work of him with a single slash delivered up and across his abdomen. The man spilled across the ground immediately, delivering a final groan of pain before his limbs went limp and blood pooled under him. The next ones to attack him were a pair of archers standing before him with their weapons already poised at his body. They loosed their arrows simultaneously and sent them racing towards the king, who by that point had already closed the distance between himself and one of them with a swift dash. He severed the archer’s arm at the elbow first before cutting their screams short with a quick stab through the heart. Ryoma withdrew his blade just in time to avoid another arrow piercing his skull, then extending his sword outwards and sending a bolt of lightning to surge through the archer’s body. They convulsed briefly before falling to the ground, their eyes wide open and aimed towards the sky. 

Ryoma harkened back to a time when he would have felt sorry for those he cut down. As long as they went down fighting, it was an honorable death. Ryoma may have been a man as well as a king, but he was a warrior and a samurai first and foremost. These people had chosen to give their bodies to be used as tools by the hand of Nohr, and because of that, their fates were sealed. He would not weep for those who fell today, for they knew the risks of war. 

The king only ceased his advance through the corpses that littered the ground when he locked eyes with one of the few individuals whom he had no desire to meet on the battlefield. With blood gently flowing from a fresh wound on his forehead and covering his right eye and his ebony armor dented, torn, and charred, Prince Xander stood with determination on his face and a bloodstained Siegfried in his hands. 

“King Ryoma,” he said through a labored breath. “I did not think that these would be the circumstances where we next crossed each other’s paths.” 

“You knew it was going to be on a battlefield one way or the other.” Ryoma flicked the blood from the Raijinto’s silver blade and stared the other man down. “Before we cross blades, tell me. Are you prepared for your life to end?” 

Xander’s mouth shifted into a small smile at the question. 

“Always.” 

The men nodded in unison, and with that, the battle began. Metal clashed against metal and sparks flew through the air with every swing. Xander may have been injured, but he was fighting as if he were at full strength—no, as if he were _ invigorated._ The difference in Hoshidan and Nohrian swordfaire was apparent at once. With his longer, thinner blade, Ryoma’s strikes were swift and relentless, Xander took a much more slow, defensive approach. He parried each of the king’s attacks with the flat of his blade before twisting his own blade in his hand. Ryoma’s eyes widened as his sword slipped between the small gap at Siegfried’s tip and slotted itself perfectly between the two sword’s two blades. Xander promptly twisted his weapon and rang the opposing regalia from its wielder’s hands, tossing it to the ground with a metallic _ clang_. 

Ryoma blocked a strike from the prince with his arms—the sword barely cut into his bracers. Before Xander could gear up for another attack, Ryoma dove to retrieve his weapon only to be met with a blast of dark energy piercing his body. It felt as if someone had driven a red-hot steel rod through his chest. The king lost his balance and promptly cried out in pain, yet quickly silenced himself and grit his teeth. He was a warrior. To show such weakness on the battlefield would be dishonorable. He grabbed at the Raijinto’s grip and rose to his feet, whipping his head to face Xander once again only to gasp upon seeing just what emerged from the fog behind the Nohrian prince. 

“_Xander~ _” 

Xander’s blood ran cold and his breath caught in his throat upon hearing the sing-songy fashion in which his name had been called. He knew that voice, but it was at the same time unfamiliar to him. The tone, the cadence, the inflection…that was not his brother. That was something darker. 

The prince’s eyes widened when he turned his head and bore witness to a horrible sight. There, Prince Takumi stood with a forlorn expression and an ethereal arrow poised on him. Next to him was a man consumed by spiraling tendrils of dark shadow that swayed around him. He held his Yato blade loosely in his hand and bore a twisted, glee filled grin of spite on his face. With his draconic arm in full view along with his wide, leathery wings and thick, spined tail sprouting from his waist, Corrin appeared to be more monster than man. 

“C-Corrin…” Xander said in a whisper as his legs began to tremble. The sight was enough to bring hot tears welling in his eyes. “No…Little Prince, what happened to you?” 

There was no verbal response to be had, only a maniacal laughter as Corrin stepped forwards, each of his brothers frozen in place as he progressed. He too soon paused, however, when the weapon in his hand began to glow. It just barely managed to catch his attention; he looked at it with only slightly inquisitive eyes. He noticed that Takumi’s Fujin Yumi had done the same, both weapons continuing to glow until there was a flash of white light that briefly blinded even those with enhanced sight. When the light faded, Takumi found his weapon unchanged, but Corrin was a different story.

The Assassin Prince now held in his hands a sword whose form differed from the one he was used to. The pommel remained the same, though the crossguard had shifted to resemble the sort common on scimitars. As for the blade itself, the third indentation up from the bottom of the flat had been filled with what appeared to be an aquamarine gem, glowing slightly. On top of that, the blade now possessed a blue trim on its widened edges. Corrin scowled. It looked too much like his sister’s own Grim Yato. 

It did not matter, though. Whether or not his weapon was in its base form or had undergone a metamorphosis made no difference in the fact that he intended to completely eviscerate the man he once called Brother here and now. Apparently, some Hoshidan soldiers (who were now deceased, presumably) had already done rather substantial damage to him. He almost wanted to frown; he was looking forward to watching him at least struggle. 

“You should see the look on your face right now,” Corrin said with a chuckle, continuing to approach the other prince. “You only have yourself to blame, you know. It all comes back to you. Conspiring to have your precious little brother and sister killed all for the glory of your homeland. You’re spineless, Xander.” 

Xander began to tremble in horror as Corrin’s words burrowed their way into his brain and he realized that not only was his manner of speaking different, but the voice itself was…_distorted._ It was as if he were speaking through a whirling propeller. 

“Just look at what you’ve wrought. Years and years of bloodshed. Countless innocent lives snuffed out all because you were too cowardly to say ‘no’ to dear old Dad. And now, everyone you know and everyone you love is going to die. How does that make you feel?” 

Xander had no words. Not even as his little brother pressed the blade of his newly acquired weapon into the flesh of his face and drew blood. He simply stared with a despaired expression. 

“I know their names, you know. I know their faces. Every single person with that bastard Garon’s blood coursing through their veins. I’ll eviscerate them all. Forrest, Velouria.” Corrin made another mark on the man’s face, this time on the opposite cheek. “Kana, Sophie.” He pressed the cold steel against his throat. “_S__iegbert_…and his whore of a mother, too.” He smirked. “Charlotte.” 

In an instant, Xander’s face turned from devastation to rage and he let out a cry that drowned out the sounds of war before swinging his blade with all his might. It was at that moment when Takumi sent his arrow flying and Ryoma lunged again with his blade. The arrow slammed into his chest and the sword against his leg, but Xander ignored them both and continued his assault on the dragon before him. Corrin dodged, blocked, or parried each of the prince’s sword strikes as his laughter steadily heightened in both volume and intensity. He seemed to be reveling in this. Even as they attempted to get their own strikes in without hitting their brother, both Takumi as well as Ryoma looked on with disconcerted eyes. 

“And to think, I used to have trouble beating you on my own even with that bitch’s assistance!” Corrin ducked under a horizontal slash and sprung straight up, slamming the crown of his head into Xander’s chin and sending him stumbling back before nearly doubling over in laughter. “Gods, what a weakling I was back then! And now look at you—just a beaten cowardly dog at the mercy of his dear little brother’s sword. Oh, how the mighty have FALLEN!” On his final word, Corrin slammed the blunt end of the Noble Yato into Xander’s jaw, a splash of crimson flying through the air as the prince fell to his side. Blood stained his entire face red, yet still he persisted. Xander grunted as he spat blood and braced his blade against the ground, attempting to use it to pull himself to his feet. All he got for it was a swift kick to the ribs that knocked him on his back and made every breath feel as if he were inhaling pins and needles into his lungs. 

“If your subjects could only see you now. They wouldn’t see their strong, valiant High Prince, would they? No, only the pathetic form of a man brought to his end by the very soul he turned his back on.” A sinister smile crept along the man’s face as he placed the tip of his sword right under Xander’s chin. “Garon would be disappointed; you always were his favorite. And now you’re at the mercy of your brother’s will.” 

Xander sputtered for a moment, his body trembling. With another cough came more blood from his lungs that splashed down across his face and what remained of his armor. He gazed into Corrin’s eyes with a look of hatred, and yet, in that gaze was just a hint of something more. Something vulnerable. Regret? Despair? Mourning? Not even the prince himself knew. 

“Y-you…you are not my brother,” he spat through staggered breaths. “You are not my Corrin. Not my Little Prince. You are b-but a beast walking around in his s-s-skin.” 

For a moment, Corrin’s grin faltered. It returned not a second later, and with it, even more black miasma grew around him. 

“Such dull final words.” 

He held his sword in the air, Takumi and Ryoma idly watching on. Xander allowed his eyes to close themselves. He waited. 

Nothing. 

When Xander slowly opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at the sight of Corrin gawking at two colossal pillars of inferno that seemed to touch the heavens themselves in an almost euphoric state. From what the Nohrian prince could tell, they did not seem to be originating from very far away. Corrin’s sword arm fell loosely at his side and he promptly spread his wings. He was nearly salivating when he took off, leaving the three remaining princes on their own. 

He usually would have been thinking of the enemies around him, but the only thoughts on Xander’s mind as his consciousness faded were of the past.

* * *

Kamui may have cared little for her own life, but she would protect the lives of those she cherished like a mother bear would her cubs. Those were the few times where she felt not even a tang of guilt in the moment for the carnage she brought. Lying lifelessly against one of the land’s numerous stone pillars were both Silas and Forrest. The hands of Kamui’s husband were pressed against a ghastly crevice that had been carved into his stomach while her nephew’s signature pink cap had been stained red by the blood seeping into it from the blow he had taken to the head. Corpses that had been freshly dispatched by the command herself littered the area around them, including charred corpses of kinshi as well as their riders. 

Kamui’s Grim Yato remained in its scabbard at her waist. Instead, she had opted to make use of what she considered her greatest strength: Her magic. Walls of flame and shards of ice met anyone who dared come near her—and considering who she was, that was a lot. Waves upon waves of Hoshidan cavalry and infantry charged at her only to fall to one of the woman’s many arcane attacks. Magic was the fastest way to deal with large groups of enemies, after all, and she _h__ad _ to make sure that Silas and Forrest were safe until a healer could reach them. Shigure, perhaps, or maybe Elise, wherever she was.

A shuriken whizzed through the air and pierced the ground at Kamui’s feet, drawing her attention downwards. Before she could react, the projectile began to glow a bright red, then exploding directly in front of her. Kamui crossed her arms over her chest and drew in her legs as she was blown through the air. She landed on her back and managed to roll across the stone for a moment and spring right back up to her feet, charging forward once again. While the fog still obscured her vision, she could see clear as day the burgundy-haired ninja standing before the other Hoshidan soldiers. Saizo, if she recalled correctly. His hand went towards his waistband and she knew that he was going for another explosive shuriken. 

Kamui snarled. “Get AWAY!” Clenching two tight fists, she knelt down before raising her arms straight up and erecting a wall of ice, this one of considerably less size than the one she had conjured up when she and her siblings had been ambushed. She whipped her head behind her and immediately began making her way towards Silas and Forrest. She was sure that the wall would not hold for long; she had to get them away from there fast.

Corrin watched with greed-filled eyes from the skies as Kamui transformed into a dragon and put the two men on her back. There she was, the only person in the world that mattered right now. The prince was practically salivating just looking at her. With his sights locked, he readied both sets of claws before folding in his wings and beginning to plummet down towards her…only to be stopped halfway there. 

He was paralyzed. Not only were his muscles refusing to obey his commands, but he seemed to be defying gravity itself. He chuckled as best he could despite his position. 

“Oh, _t__here _ you are, Lilith. I was wondering if I would get to meet you today!” 

The armored woman stood almost directly below him with her hand outstretched and clenched, her black aura having seized Corrin’s body. While her Nohrian allies may have been nearly blinded by the Hoshidan’s fog, she could see just fine. She wasn’t human, after all, so her natural dragon physiology had enhanced her eyesight significantly once the fog set in. 

“Give it up, Corrin,” she said just loud enough so that her words reached him. “I’m not letting you get to her.” 

“Of course you aren’t—why would you do that? You would do anything to protect your precious little Kamui, wouldn’t you? As if you’re her guardian angel. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I recall you vowing to remain neutral in all of this. What happened?” 

Lilith grit her teeth. “Shut up. Don’t try and pull that with me. You _ know _ what happened. I wasn’t just going to stand by and let you throw yourself away.” 

“So you lend your power to the bloodthirsty warmonger? Hah! It’s like you’re so concerned with protecting her that you didn’t even consider what you were supporting!” 

“_Warmonger _ ? Gods, it’s like you don’t even know her at all! Corrin, Kamui is—” Lilith bit down on her tongue to silence herself. There was no use in attempting to appeal to him. She had suspected it back when he initially proposed a surprise attack—something the Corrin she knew would _ never _ do—but she could tell for certain now by the bloodlust in his eyes and the violet miasma that followed him wherever he went. He was under Anankos’ influence now. Her father. 

Lilith shut her eyes and threw her arm down with a grunt, slamming Corrin into the ground. “I’m sorry, Corrin, but this is just the way that things are! I wish it didn’t have to be, but…” 

“But what?!” Corrin cackled even while still trapped by Lilith’s magic. “This could have been over months ago! All you had to do was side with me and Kamui’s head would be on a pike outside of Castle Shirasagi by now! Gods! You, Azura, Kamui. Why are you all so obsessed with balancing the scales of war?! Can’t you see that I’m trying to carry out JUSTICE here?!” 

Lilith winced. She could not very well hold Corrin there until the battle was over. She had to take some sort of action. As such, she bit down on her lip as she twisted her fist and heard the snapping of bones followed by a pained scream and maniacal cackle. 

“M-my arm!? What, do you think that this will stop me?! You CAN’T stop me—no one can! I swear, I’ll have my revenge one way or another no matter what you or anyone else does! I’m unstoppable! I’m stronger than you could ever even imagine! I—” 

A tear rolled down Lilith’s cheek as she twisted again. More snapping. Another scream. More laughter. 

“I sh-should have killed you when I had the chance! Taken your head off back at Izumo Palace!” Corrin screamed through pained laughs, his breath coming in staggered. Both of his arms were broken, and yet, he continued his tirade. “It sure would have saved me a lot of trouble! I could have killed every last Nohrian during the ambush if it hadn’t been for you! I’ll have to reprimand Shiro for not finishing the job he started later!” 

Lilith knew that the man berating her wasn’t Corrin, and yet, each word stabbed into her heart just as much as they would have had it actually been him. She hated having to hurt him. She hated hearing his voice spout accusations and insults at her. Most of all, however, she hated that there was nothing she could do to help him. 

Her guard was down. As such, she supposed that she should have expected it when a hoof slammed into her chin and knocked her to the ground, breaking her hold on Corrin immediately. What she did expect was for Hinoka to bring her naginata down through her skull, though nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the princess turned her back on her as her mount galloped over to the broken Assassin Prince. 

“Corrin, we have to go. Now.” Hinoka hastily dismounted her pegasus and began to lift her younger brother to his feet only for him to give a weak laugh. 

“And tell me, why would we do that? We’re just getting started, Hinoka! So much work to be done!” 

Hinoka glared at him. “You’re supposed to be the commander here, Corrin! Gods, haven’t you been paying attention? We’ve lost nearly two thirds of our forces! Reina practically threw herself onto a Nohrian sword, Yukimura is missing, and Sakura is on her last legs!” 

Corrin thinned his eyes; they were _ losing_? It couldn’t be true. Not only had they had the element of surprise on their hands, but none of the Nohrians could even see more than a yard in front of them. For them to _ fail _ here was impossible, and yet, as he looked briefly upon the myriad corpses that covered the ground, he found that an overwhelming amount of them were clad in Hoshidan colors. 

He let out a shaky breath. “Losing…we’re…losing…go. Run, then, with the others. I still have business here.” 

“What?!” Hinoka shouted. “No! Look at you—you’re in no state to be fighting!” 

“I’m not done!” Corrin spat. He managed to jerk himself away from his elder sister and stretched his wings, though he found it impossible to take off. The pain in his two snapped arms made him want to vomit while also preventing him from focusing the muscles in his extended appendages so that he could take to the sky. He ground his teeth and gave a beastial growl. “Take me to a healer. Mitama, Felicia, Azama, it doesn’t matter. Just…find one of them.” 

“What the hell is the matter with you?!” Hinoka balled her fists, but she knew the answer to her question. As such, she simply kissed her teeth and shook her head before approaching the prince and slinging his arm over her shoulder, then mounting her pegasus once again. It was an awkward position and she would have to fly low for the sake of safety, but it would have to do for now. “Look, we’ve dealt a substantial blow to their forces. The best course of action is to retreat for now, regroup, and defeat them another day. They’re too far along to retreat back to Windmire for reinforcements, so what they’re left with today is all they have to work with, got it? Now stop being difficult.” 

Slowly but surely, the dark shadows spiraling around Corrin’s body began to fade as his eyelids grew heavy and his breathing slowed. His mind was beginning to darken. No…no, he was so close. He was _ so close_. Kamui was just a stone’s throw away. If he could only heal his arms, he would pursue her and promptly remove her head from her shoulders. If he were to retreat here, it would just be yet another failure. 

“I am…Commander.” Corrin leaned against his sister’s back as her pegasus took to the air and began to fly in the direction they had come from. “What I say goes.” 

“Then have me arrested for insubordination for all I care. You’re not throwing your life away.” 

Corrin wanted to retort, but words failed him. The pain reached its peak the next moment and all went black, the sounds of shouting and battlecries fading out.

* * *

“Elise…I’m so, _ so _ sorry.” 

It took Kamui less than ten minutes to locate her little sister after the Hoshidans had retreated. She did not know why they left. While it was true that their numbers were dwindling, so were Nohr’s. A body count would not be had until later in the night, but from what she could see, the princess estimated that they had lost around half of their men. So many lives snuffed out in a battle that felt like it had only lasted a moment. One second they were entering Jotunheim and the next second they were fighting for their lives against an enemy they could barely see. Now, she was standing over her kneeling baby sister as she sobbed into the bloodstained armor on Arthur’s pale, lifeless body. Next to her, Effie sat with a shellshocked gaze that seemed to stretch for miles. Kamui could only deduce that she had been stabbed through her abdomen judging by the slash in her armor and the patches of dried blood around her mouth and chin. 

“I didn’t make it in time,” Elise lamented. “If...if I had just been _ faster_, Arthur would still be here. He would still—” her voice caught in her throat and she continued to cry. It was all Kamui could do to to kneel down and gently wrap her arms around the small girl. Thankfully, Elise returned the gesture, squeezing her beloved big sister and sobbing into her shoulder. 

“It was Corrin,” Effie said flatly. Her mouth barely opened. “Someone dragged Elise away and left me to fight him. He thought he killed me. With my own lance.” 

Kamui’s eyes darkened as she felt Elise’s embrace tighten. She could only imagine how she must have felt. While Kamui may not have known him very well, that man was one of Elise’s closest companions. To have him murdered by her own brother…well, Kamui supposed that her sisters now had one more thing in common. 

There would be time for mourning later, and Elise knew that. There were people that needed her, and as such, she had Kamui temporarily place Arthur’s body in the Astral Plane before they moved on to survey the rest of the crimson battlefield. While they had attempted to rouse Effie from her trance, the sisters’ words fell onto deaf ears. Now that the fog had faded, they were able to see just how many bodies—Nohrian and Hoshidan alike—littered the battlefield. The sisters walked for nearly five minutes before coming across someone still living. 

“Stop trying to move, Xander. I’ve got you,” Elise muttered, her hands hovering over Xander’s forehead and glowing in tandem with the staff at her side. “We…we almost lost you, too, huh?” 

“I’m afraid so,” Xander groaned. He attempted to meet the eyes of his Little Princess, but when she averted her own, he allowed his to close themselves. “I suppose if I were to meet my end, it would only be fitting that it would be by the hands of him. Almost poetic, wouldn’t you say?” 

Elise frowned. “Don’t talk like that. We’re all…we’re all going to make it through this. We’re not going to lose anyone else.” 

Xander only gave a quiet hum in response, allowing Elise to work her healing magic on his aching body. Kamui found herself staring at him. If she and Elise hadn’t reached him in time, would he have…? The thought was frightening. She may have found it difficult to look him in the eye or speak amicably with him, but he was still Xander. She had no desire to lose another brother. 

They found Lilith next. To no one’s surprise, she appeared to be completely unscathed save for a bloody split chin that Elise closed up with practically a snap of her fingers. The dragon’s expression was one of concern. 

“Ah…I had a run in with Corrin,” she began, biting her lip. “His sword. It was different.”

“Yes, it transformed during his fight with me,” Xander said with a grimace. “The Noble Yato. It appears that his blade is now on the same level as yours, Kamui. If my knowledge of the mythos is correct, then both swords only have one form remaining before they’ve reached their final forms.” 

Kamui wordlessly nodded. The Grim Yato felt heavier in its scabbard. 

Lilith was the one to spot Shigure tending to the wounds of Kana, Sophie, and Velouria. He was doing his best, but it seemed that the damage done to the young knight could not be undone with healing magic alone. While her snapped bones had been mended back together, her arms were still bruised a sickly black that made them look almost gangrenous and according to Shigure, fragments of her ribs had punctured some of her organs. She would need surgery later that day, but for now, Shigure’s staff was enough to prevent any real harm. 

Kana hugged his mother tighter than he ever had with his teeth clenched and his eyes damp. “It was Uncle Corrin’s daughter. I don’t know who she was, but some girl knocked her out and stopped her from killing us both. She told me to get them away, but I didn’t get far before Shigure found us. The fight was over by then.” 

Kamui nodded in understanding. “Corrin’s daughter. Kara. Where is she now, then?” 

“That girl woke up a bit ago and booked it,” Veloura grumbled, scratching at the gauze wrapped around her bloodied midsection. “Took one look at Shigure and got out of there. Seemed like she was scared.” 

Shigure sighed. “She saw me clear as day, yes. I can only pray that my mother can feign ignorance as to how I ended up on this side when Kara inevitably tells everyone. She’s a daddy’s girl, that one, so she certainly wouldn’t keep it to herself even if I did get the chance to say a word to her.” 

Kamui shuddered as Shigure spoke. Azura…she hoped that she would be okay. If all went well, then she too would make it out of this alive. 

The rest of Kamui’s allies reconvened in due time. Most were relatively unharmed, though a few had suffered major injuries. Nyx had suffered a particularly gruesome slash to her neck that would have taken her life had it not been for Jakob being nearby. Witnesses this seemed to have affected her husband quite greatly. Niles—usually sly and always strutting around with a smirk—seemed more pale than usual and possessed a quieter disposition. Mozu had taken a dagger to the back that had punctured an artery and nearly caused her to bleed out, but Charlotte’s dispatchment of her attacker and battlefield first-aid made it so that she stayed conscious long enough for Forrest to reach her before rushing off to assist Kamui and Silas. Now, she sobbed into the queen-to-be’s shoulder and muttered countless words of gratitude. Charlotte had never been one for physical affection, yet she smiled and rubbed the farm girl’s back nevertheless. Finally, Ophelia had nearly fallen victim to a wayward arrow that Soleil claimed had been fired by Takumi’s son—Kiragi—from dozens of meters away. It had buried itself solidly in her chest and would have killed her in no time had it not been for Dwyer tending to her wounds while Soleil vigorously fended off any enemy that lingered near. 

Though she was supposed to be addressing the soldiers she had left, Kamui found herself staring at a pair of young men tending to one of the convoy’s broken carriages. Though they were beaten and bloody, they were still working hard to fix the axle of a wheel. They should have been resting. Instead, they were exerting themselves in order to support…what? Their comrades? Their country? Their own lives? Kamui bit her tongue and wondered just _ what _ these people were here for. 

Her attention was brought back by a loud, rough clearing of the throat given by Hans, who did not appear to be particularly pleased. His arms were folded over his chest and he bore a deep scowl on his face. “Well now, _ Princess_, where do we go from here? We lost more than half of our men, our transportation mostly busted, and we didn’t even manage to get a single one of those Hoshidan royal brats.” 

Kamui frowned, silently lamenting the fact that he had not been among those whom they had lost. “…Tell Iago what happened and that we’re working on things.” 

Hans’ eyes widened and his shoulders slumped slightly in surprise. “Working on things?” he repeated, dumbfounded. “Did you take a blow to the head just now? What do you think the king would say to THAT sort of combat report? He’d—” 

“Shut up!” Kamui spat with venom in her words and her fists balled at her side. “I don’t care; I’ll deal with whatever consequences come later! Just do what I tell you, damn it!” 

While most of those around her seemed surprised by her sudden display of assertion, Lilith bore a pleased smile on her face as she opened a portal to the Astral Plane at Hans’ side. “Your king awaits.” 

Still staring, Hans’ face twisted back into one of contempt as he backed through the doorway obediently. Lilith snapped it shut the very instance he had fully gone through. Kamui let out a sigh of relief and held her fingers against the bridge of her nose. Frustrating as it may have been to be in his presence, Hans _ had _asked a question that she was certain the rest of her allies would love to hear the answer to. She was the tactician here, so the choice was entirely up to her unless the king said otherwise. 

“That…that didn’t go so well for us, clearly,” she began, nervously tapping her pointer finger against the Grim Yato’s scabbard. “We lost a lot of lives today. Good people fighting for their country. Even after the battle’s end, we were only able to save a few…but for those of us still standing, we have an obligation to move onward lest our allies’ deaths be for nothing.” She bit her tongue—did she _ truly _ believe the words coming out of her mouth? She did not know. “We’re Nohr. Warfare is what we’re best at. We aren’t going to let one defeat—crippling as it may be—slow us down in our campaign. I have confidence that you are all the best of the best, otherwise you would be back home guarding the homes of nobles or patrolling the streets of Windmire. We can do this. However, it would be foolish of us to continue without recuperating. We will make repairs to our carriages and heal our injuries as best we can before continuing on to reclaim Valhalla. After liberating our people from Hoshidan control, we advance across the Bottomless Canyon before making our way to Shirasagi. That will be where we end things—” 

Kamui’s voice caught in her throat. _ End things? _What was she saying? What did that mean? It was true that they had to reach the throne room of Castle Shirasagi in order to rid themselves of Iago’s presence, but the way in which she was speaking made her stomach turn. She took a moment before continuing on. 

“Ah…I advise you all to keep one thing in mind as we progress. While it is true that we are fighting a war and that our enemies will be acting with every intent to kill us, I implore you to keep in mind the fact that just as we are all people, so are they. We are not savages. We are not beasts with a thirst for blood. As not only Commander but Princess, I will absolutely not tolerate any showings of excessive brutality among my army. We do not make a show of killing nor do we kill to entertain ourselves. We kill because we must in order to ensure our victory. As such, I advise you to think twice before raising your blades on anyone that is not a threat to you or your comrades.” Her sword hand twitched. “Punishment for disobeying this will be severe. Do I make myself clear?” 

Cries of “Sir, yes, sir!” rang out among her soldiers and Kamui could not help but frown slightly. These people…they had been trained by Nohr’s finest military academies to be perfectly obedient to whoever was in charge of them. Would they be willing to throw their lives away if she demanded it? Were they not individuals, but simply pieces in a war game? 

She inhaled deeply and steeled her nerves. “That being said, there is much to do before we make camp for the night. Jakob will divide you all into groups and set you to work repairing what’s broken and…gathering bodies. There are a lot, so I ask you to be diligent in your work. For those that feel they cannot contribute due to injuries, report to Dwyer and Elise. Let’s get to work!” 

Though she found it difficult to raise her voice for that last bit, her soldiers seemed to get the message, beginning to wander over to either Jakob or Dwyer and her sister. Kamui’s eyes tracked random soldiers as they moved; just how many of them would die before this was all over? 

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to face Camilla and Leo, warm yet pained smiles on their faces. “You’re doing great, Kamui. I’m proud of you.”

“Am I?” she muttered as her eyes fell to the ground. “How many people just died under _ my _ command? And Arthur…gods. I should have done something more. It didn’t have to be like this.” 

“There was nothing more you could do,” Leo declared as if it were a fact. “Corrin seems to have a penchant for ambushes these days. All we could have done to defend against that was simply be more alert, and considering they used some sort of spell to limit our visibility with that fog—not to mention the terrain we had to fight in—it wouldn’t have made a difference. You did what you could.” 

“No,” Kamui adamantly rejected her brother’s words to his surprise. “My senses are better when I’m in my dragon form; I could have changed into that and taken down any Hoshidan I saw. M-maybe if I were better at magic then I could have created some sort of barrier to protect us or push the enemy back or warp us all to safety.” 

Leo scoffed. “If you were better at magic? Kamui, take this from me, and you know I would never lie to you to boost your own ego. Your technique may not be as refined as mine, but when it comes to pure power, your magic is far more potent than my own.”

“But I don’t know enough.” Kamui pursed her lips. “I can’t heal, I can’t do illusions, I don’t know the first thing about divinity or fortune telling—all I can do is elemental magic.” Her voice grew quieter. “All I can do is destroy.” 

Camilla pulled her sister into a tender hug, placing Kamui’s head against her soft chest. “Darling, you have to stop blaming yourself for everything. The weight of the world doesn’t rest on your shoulders, you know.” 

“No, only the fate of two nations with populations in the millions.” 

A grimace took over Camilla’s face; she could not very well argue with that. Unfortunate as it may have been, Kamui held the responsibility of gods in her hands. Camilla knew her sister well, and…as much as it pained her to admit it to herself, Kamui was not the type of person who could handle that. In spite of how strong she was, she was also weak in certain areas—areas that someone leading an army to conquer a neighbouring nation could not be weak in. 

Kamui gently slipped out of her sister’s embrace and conjured up her own portal to the Astral Plane, prompting Camilla and Leo to throw each other confused glances. “You aren’t going to stay and help?” Leo asked. 

“Tired,” Kamui muttered. 

Camilla placed a finger on her chin and tilted her head. “Are you sure going there is a good idea right now? I’d like to be around if Iago is going to yell at you.” 

Kamui stepped through the portal. “Doesn’t matter,” she whispered before promptly sealing it. 

Camilla and Leo gave each other despair filled looks before moving on to begin gathering bodies.

* * *

The first thing Corrin noticed when he awoke was that he had regained control of his arms. The second thing he noticed was that he still could not move them. 

The young prince groaned as his eyes fluttered open and the world came into sight around him. The only audible sound was that of wooden wheels turning atop a rocky surface from outside of the carriage he was in, evident by the velvet ceiling that consumed his vision. He wiggled his fingers and sure enough, he had full control. The vexing thing was that upon raising his head as best he could, he found that someone had bound his arms at his side with a length of silver chain. He grit his teeth and attempted to break free of the binding—a task that should have been child’s play for someone of his physiology—yet he found that his strength refused to come to him. The chain must have been enchanted with the same magic used on the shackles he had bound his sister in weeks prior. 

“Oh, you’re awake now…” 

Corrin snapped his head to his right instantly. Of course he wasn’t alone. On the carriage bench opposite him sat his loving wife and his precious little girls, all with varying expressions on their face. Kotomi chewed her lip—nervousness. Kagero’s brow was knitted and she was forcing a smile—disappointment. Kara grinned and leaned forward—excitement. 

“Papa! You’ve been asleep for so long! We were so worried about you.” 

Corrin thinned his eyes. “Who put this thing on me? Why?” 

“Uncle Ryoma suggested it! He said that he was worried you would wake up and still be hysterical, and this was his way of making sure that Mama, Kotomi and I would be safe. But you’re clearly okay now!” she turned to her mother and eagerly nodded. “Take the lock off, Mama!”

Kagero’s eyes darted between her husband and daughter. Slowly, she reached between the seat cushions and produced a small silver key. Instead of rising to her feet and freeing Corrin from his captivity, however, she simply placed it in Kara’s hand. 

“Here.” 

Kara did not question it. She instead hopped out of her seat and quickly began to fumble with the enchanted lock that kept her father in chains. “Papa, listen! I’ve got something REALLY important to tell you.” 

Her words went in through one ear and out the other. As she began to undo his binds, Corrin silently seethed and had to stop himself from biting off a part of his tongue. Ryoma had suggested he be restrained. What, was he some sort of animal? A rabid beast that needed to be hindered in order to ensure the safety of those around him? It was as if everyone he had put his trust into was an imbecile. Azura, Takumi, Kagero, Hinoka, and now even his elder brother. Would Sakura be next in line to betray him? Would she refuse to heal him out of fear that he would hurt someone or something along those lines? Or perhaps it would be his own daughters, turning coat due to his relentless nature in combat. Was he _supposed _ to hold back? Was he _ supposed _ to allow the enemy to live? Was he _ supposed _ to allow evil to flourish and spread its reach like poisonous fungal spores? Gods, could none of these people see reason?!

“Papa, are you listening?” Kara asked, frowning. 

“I am. Tell me.” 

Her smile returned somewhat. “While we were fighting, I was SUPER close to getting rid of Kamui’s kids, but one of their mages must have put me to sleep, because the next thing I know, I wake up behind one of those big pillar things while one of them is being healed, and guess who’s doing the healing? It was Shigure! He didn’t disappear at all, he’s with the Nohrians now!” 

Kagero brushed the hair out of her face. “It seems they must have taken him somehow and are forcing him to serve their army.” 

“Nuh-uh!” Kara rejected. “When he saw that I was awake, he didn’t look relieved to see me or anything! He was scared! Like I wasn’t supposed to see him there or something! That’s why I got out of there as soon as I could. I wasn’t about to let them turn me into one of their brainwashed soldiers.” 

Kotomi spoke up, though her voice was still as soft and quiet as usual. “Kaze thinks that he must have fled Hoshido when he disappeared to offer them his aid in the war. He was always so kind and gentle; none of us ever would have suspected anything was amiss before he disappeared. We don’t know what kind of information he’s given them. Intel about our best soldiers, most likely.” 

Corrin balled his fists; he knew _ exactly _ what the truth behind the matter was. Azura had sent her only son off to relay information regarding Valla and Anankos for reasons he no longer felt he understood. All she had accomplished was losing Hoshido another valuable piece in this war, just like Lilith had done when she foolishly chose to protect the people responsible for the death of Corrin’s mother. She would have handed them to him in her dark binds if she knew what was good for her. Now, Corrin was certain she’d end up just another corpse bloodied before him when this was all over. 

He sat up when his daughter finally removed the chains from him. Immediately, he felt his strength flow into him once again and was reinvigorated. He stretched his limbs and cracked his joints before rubbing at his neck. “So we know where he went off to now. Mystery solved. It’s a shame that such a bright young man has to die.” 

Kagero drew in a short breath while Kara pursed her lips and nodded in agreement. “I really don’t want him to die, you know. He would always take me into the woods and play with me or show me some of the animals. I missed him…but if he’s going to help the bad guys, then we have to beat him! There’s no other way!” 

“How long have we been traveling?” Corrin asked, dropping the prior subject entirely. There was no use dwelling on it. He knew the truth and he knew what had to come of it, so there was nothing more to discuss. 

“Three hours.” Kotomi adjusted in her seat nervously. “You’ve been out for four, though. It took us a while to get our bearings after the fight. We uh…we lost a lot of people. Reina and Yukimura…” The young kunoichi took a moment for herself, allowing the names to linger in the air before continuing. “We’re going to recover the men we stationed in Valhalla and receive reinforcements back in Shirasagi. We can try and backtrack from there, but it’s likely that that’s where we’ll be making our final stand.” 

Corrin grit his teeth and glared icy daggers at the young woman who whimpered under his gaze. “And just who authorized that?” 

“H-Hinoka and Ryoma.” 

“Idiots,” he spat immediately, making the women around him wince. “We lost because of your aunt. Instead of taking me to a healer and fixing my arms so that I could fight, she ran off with my unconscious body to escape. It was cowardly.” 

“We did not lose,” Kagero corrected. “We simply made a tactical retreat. The numbers of both of our armies were greatly diminished and we are far closer to our capitol than Nohr is to their own. Once we strengthen our ranks, we’ll have the advantage lest they wish to retreat back to Windmire, which still benefits us. Fighting us in our own territory while we have more soldiers is good for us.” 

“And why exactly is it that we lost so many men, hm?” Corrin stood up and braced himself against the wall with his dragon hand for balance. “Not only did we get the drop on them, but we had the added advantage of the fog. We should have decimated them by all means, and yet, we didn’t even manage to kill a single one of their leaders, did we? Are the men at my disposal not supposed to be the finest that Hoshido has to offer?” 

Kotomi twiddled her thumbs in her lap, staring down. “Ah…this is just what Kaze said a little bit ago, but maybe they were just…stronger.” 

Corrin’s ear twitched and he balled a fist, glowering at the girl. She could feel his eyes boring into him even without seeing his face. “_Excuse me_?” 

Kagero cleared her throat to take the pressure off of her daughter, much to her relief. “According to some of the men who witnessed her fight, Kamui is like a force of nature. She doesn’t have a variety of magic at her disposal, however, the destruction she brings with her spells is not something to be taken lightly. She can take out a dozen of our men with a snap of her fingers—not to mention her skill with a sword. She’s a force to be reckoned with. In addition to that, Princess Camilla is—” 

“I don’t need to hear about her!” Corrin slammed his fist into the carriage wall, briefly taking it off two wheels and nearly causing the vehicle to fall on its side. Both of his daughters yelped in momentary fear. “I know that Kamui is strong—I know that better than anyone—but I’m stronger, damn it! If I could just get my hands on her she’d be pleading on her knees for her life.” 

Kara slowly backed up towards her seat and sat down with concern in her eyes. “P-Papa, you’re acting kind of scary…”

His demeanor shifted instantly, but Kagero knew that he was not truly being himself. Though he smiled lovingly at his daughter, there was still darkness in those deep red eyes. “No need to be scared, sweetie. I’d never hurt you. You know that. I’m sorry that I’ve been so focused on the war lately, but you understand why, don’t you? There’s so much to do. I promise that when this is all over, you and I can go flying over the city. Just the two of us.” Corrin chuckled and covered his mouth. “Unless you can find someone else who can fly, but that’s not really likely, is it?” 

Kara’s smile flickered back to life. “Ooh! I can’t wait!”

Suddenly, Corrin flung the carriage door open and leaned out of it, giving a final glance to his girls. “I’ll be back in a bit, I just need to talk to someone.” Before they could respond, he had already made his way onto the roof of the car and closed the door, spreading his wings and taking to the air as he made his way up the line of carriages. His targets should have been in the very front. Upon arriving at the first carriage of the line, he folded in his wings and promptly took hold of the outer handle before swinging the door open and stepping in. 

“Gods!” Hinoka yelped, jumping in her seat and immediately reaching for her naginata. Ryoma did not react much, only turning his head to the man standing in the frame of the carriage’s open door. Corrin fully entered and closed the door behind him with a smile etched onto his face. “Corrin? You’re awake! What are you doing here?” 

“Hello, Hinoka. Ryoma.” The prince did not take a seat, instead leaning back against the carriage door. “Are you well? Seems like it. I assume Kara told you about Shigure.” 

Hinoka slowly drew her hand back from her weapon and nodded. “Y-yeah, she did. We talked to Azura and…well, you know how she’s been lately. Didn’t have much of a reaction.” 

“Is that so? I suppose it isn’t surprising.” Corrin retracted his wings and stared at his siblings, gazing boring holes through their souls. Hinoka shifted uncomfortably and pressed her lips together while Ryoma remained steadfast, keeping his sights locked on his younger brother. 

“Is there anything in particular you wished to discuss with us? Considering the fact that you left your carriage to come to ours, I assume it must be urgent.” 

“Urgent? Perhaps. Topical? Certainly.” He stood up straight and took a step towards his elder siblings as a foreboding grin crept its way up his face. A small chuckle escaped his lips. “I believe I have some information regarding Azura that you both would simply _ love _ to hear.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. That was a long one, wasn't it? Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. "Valentine, did you really kill off ANOTHER Nohrian who doesn't have a kid", to which my answer is yes. Yes I did. It was totally unintentional, I swear. I'd always planned to have both Beruka and Arthur bite it eventually, and the fact that neither of them have children stems from Beruka being unmarried and me just not wanting to write Percy >_> The cast was feeling a little bloated to begin with and I figured that I may as well ax some of the second gen units. Nina was a part of those due to myself not wanting to touch on how sort of weird it would be for Niles to have a child with Nyx and I guess Hisame, too, since he wasn't tossed in the baby dimension. Anyway, that's off topic. Four more chapters and that's it! Can you believe it's been over a year since I started publishing this? I sure can't. As always, comments/feedback are appreciated, and have yourself a good one.


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